


Soldier Keep On Marching On

by MarvelMerlin



Series: DBH SHAU [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shadowhunters, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical language, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Half-Siblings, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Elijah Kamski Being an Asshole, Gavin is a shadowhunter, Inspired by Shadowhunters (TV), M/M, RK900 is Nines, Vampire Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Vampire Kara (Detroit: Become Human), Vampire Upgraded Connor | RK900, Warlock Ada (Detroit: Evolution), Warlock Chloe (Detroit: Become Human), Werewolf Josh (Detroit: Become Human), Werewolf Leo (Detroit: Become Human), Werewolf Luther (Detroit: Become Human), Werewolf Markus (Detroit: Become Human), far North (Detroit: Become Human), minor mentions of shadowhunters canon characters, sorta - Freeform, they/them pronouns for North
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 43,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28778820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelMerlin/pseuds/MarvelMerlin
Summary: (Set in canon DBH time, around 20 years after the end of Shadowhunters (Freeform) which you don't NEED to have watched, but you might catch on to some bits sooner than people who haven't.)Gavin Reed is a part fae shadowhunter, Nines is second in command of Detroit's largest vampire clan. Before a string of seemingly rogue vampire attacks, the two had never met.And, even though it takes them a few weeks to find their rhythm, the two of them have more in common than either know.As always, proofread/betaed by Emrys (oswiniarty). Work and chapter titles come from Soldier by Fleurie.Parker James is an original character created by Emrys who lets me use him in so many fics I love my chaotic neutral step-child.
Relationships: Markus/Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Tina Chen (Detroit: Become Human)/Valerie Morales-Chen, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: DBH SHAU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2109948
Comments: 35
Kudos: 41





	1. Head Down Till the Work is Done

The Detroit Institute sat in the middle of a park, glamoured as a run down greenhouse. To Shadowhunters and Downworlders, and the handful of mundanes born with the Sight, the glamour melted away to reveal a grand structure made of stone and stained glass, thrumming with magic. 

Gavin stood in front of the Institute, geared up and waiting for his parabatai. He watched mundane families walking past, talking about meaningless things that to them seemed like life or death, completely unaware of the constant battle waged against literal demons infesting the world.

None of them noticed him, not that they could. He sighed, deciding to sit on the steps while Tina took her _sweet time_ joining him. Darkness was just starting to tinge the east horizon, barely visible between the buildings of the city. 

“Remind me again why you volunteered us for this shit?” Gavin asked as he heard Tina’s familiar footsteps exiting the building.

“Because it was us or your brother,” she replied, offering him a hand up. Gavin shoved it away, standing up on his own. “Someone’s in a mood.”

“Literally everyone else is _hunting_ tonight. And _we_ get to go play diplomat to the Night Children.” Gavin crossed his arms and glared. “I don’t do diplomacy.”

“Well, you should. You’re good at it, when you want to be. Now come on, we’re supposed to meet them when the sun sets and we’ve got a while to go.” Tina dragged him forward, and Gavin huffed, following her.

“Do I have to be good at it tonight?” He asked.

“ _Yes_. We’re meeting with the heads of the Detroit clan, so don’t be your usual dick self. We don’t want to step on any toes-”

“Or get drained. Yeah, got it. Why aren’t we portaling?”

“Apparently they insisted on sending a car for us, a gesture of good faith or something.” As if on cue, a sleek black car with darkened windows screeched to a stop in front of them. It must have been heavily glamoured, given that not a single mundane noticed it.

Tina opened the door, climbing in. Gavin stared at her incredulously.

“Gavin, close your gaping mouth and just get in,” Tina chastised her parabatai, who glowered but got in.

He sat on guard, keeping a watch on the streets they passed. The car was definitely driving faster than the speed limit, but mundane speed cameras and law enforcement wouldn’t be able to pick it up. By the time the sun had set, they were pulling into the driveway of a massive manor on the outskirts of the city. 

“Did you read any of the background I sent you?” Tina asked.

“I skimmed it. Connor’s the head of the clan; he shares responsibilities with his fledgling, Nines. What kind of name is _Nines_?”

“Doesn’t matter. _Don’t be a dick_. What else?”

“We’re fairly certain that the vamp running the bleeder ring that's killed several mundanes is another fledgling of Connor’s. It matches a description we have on file, unlike this Nines dude.”

“And we’re not going to step on toes or rush in with accusations,” Tina warned, and Gavin met her narrowed gaze. 

“I’ll be as quiet as a mouse,” Gavin promised, and Tina rolled her eyes.

“I’d take that Gavin over rushing in guns blazing Gavin.”

Gavin opened his mouth to retort, something along the lines of wherever he went Tina was probably already there, when the door opened quickly. Gavin looked over at the vampire who’d opened the door. She was, objectively, attractive. Short cropped hair, with a warm smile that was clearly meant to be non-threatening, but to Gavin the idea of a vampire having that warm of a smile made his skin crawl more than any vaguely threatening smile ever did. 

He got out of the car, scanning the surrounding grounds, Tina right behind him. The manor was more like a palace, with its huge white brick walls and carved gargoyles of anatomically correct demons, giant black walls surrounded the grounds, and the giant wrought iron gate that had sent pinpricks through his body when they’d passed through it.

“If you’ll follow me, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Chen, Connor and Nines are expecting you both,” the woman’s voice was alarmingly soft, nearly perfect. It was unsettling. Gavin gestured for her to lead the way. She turned to the large doors, which swung open when she approached.

Inside, the interior was just as overly lavish as the exterior. Large paintings covered the walls, with expensive rugs on the floor. They were led up a grand central staircase, the railings of which were hand carved and covered in gold. The curtains were open, showing the dark night sky. Gavin was suddenly aware of how heavy his and Tina’s footsteps were compared to the other creatures around them. A handful of vampires were heading out for the night, each of them giving the Shadowhunters a wide berth and a few even shot glares Gavin’s direction. He turned away and focused on the door they were walking towards.

“If you could please leave all your weapons here,” the vampire escorting them gestured to an open chest next to the door. Gavin began disarming, placing his weapons alongside Tina’s in the chest, both of them holding onto their steles, before closing it. Gavin pulled out his stele, drawing a locking rune on the chest.

“I mean no offense. It's an instinct,” Gavin said as he stood. He was doing his best to keep his expression as neutral as he could. Tina was right - if he tried, he was a damn good diplomat. 

The vampire nodded, knocking on the door before opening it and taking a few steps in. “I have Gavin Reed and Tina Chen from the Institute.”

“Bring them in,” an unfamiliar, yet equally unnervingly, perfect voice answered, and Gavin and Tina were ushered in by the vampire woman, who then closed the door behind them.

The room they stood in was some kind of large formal office. There was a large wooden desk on one side of the room, a plush chair tucked into the desk. The walls were a soft blue, with a large portrait hanging on the wall above a fireplace opposite to the desk. There were crushed white velvet couches in a circle around the fireplace, on either side of which were tall bookshelves. 

Sitting on the desk was the leader of the Detroit clan, Connor. Everything about his appearance was unnervingly precise and perfect. His suit jacket, shirt, and pants had no wrinkles, his tie was tied perfectly, and his shoes were completely unscuffed. His hair was perfectly styled up and out of the way. He looked not at all human, not even in the slightest.

“Mr. Reed, Mrs. Chen, thank you for reaching out.” He crossed the room and shook their hands.

“Thank you for responding so quickly,” Tina said.

“Come, sit with us.” Connor gestured to the couches and Gavin noticed a person he’d dismissed as a statue earlier.

He was unmoving, not even breathing or blinking, which of course vampires didn’t need to do, but many did, out of habit or to put those they met at ease. This man was _perfect_ , but it wasn’t unnerving. It was _infuriating_. His black clothes were just as unwrinkled as his sire’s were, his hair the same tone of brown as Connor’s. They looked so alike they could be brothers, if not for the recorded 400 year age difference between them. That, and their different eyes. Connor’s were a solid brown while the man’s were icy grey, and both of them were guarded. 

Gavin hid a wince as Tina stepped on his toes. Tearing his eyes away, he glared at her before returning to the neutral diplomatic expression. Tina walked to a couch, Gavin following behind her, and they sat, Connor on the opposite couch, with his compatriot behind him. 

The vampire moved and gave Connor a glass. It was opaque, but with his heightened senses Gavin could catch the whiff of blood. He raised an eyebrow at Connor.

“I hope you’ll excuse this -” he raised the glass - “I usually feed around this time. If I don’t, I’m afraid I get very cranky.” 

“Our apologies for the short notice, but it’s rather urgent,” Gavin spoke, voice even and diplomatic.

“I assumed. What can we Night Children help you with?” Connor responded in an equally even tone, dripping with charismatic charm.

“We’ve been keeping an eye on a blood den on the outskirts of the city, and over the last three months, seven mundanes have been found in the immediate area, with all of their blood drained,” Tina informed, and Gavin watched as the statue behind Connor’s jaw tensed ever so slightly. So he _could_ express emotion, he just wasn’t. “We recently got a description from a witness who escaped un-encantoed. She was in a local hospital, where once we received the description, a warlock on staff removed the memories of the blood den.”

“I see. Not only are they killing mundanes, they’re being sloppy about it,” Connor stated. “Do you have the description?”

“We do, and running it against our database we found a match with one of your fledglings, Parker James. Our reports show a drop off in his activity around three years ago.”

Connor turned to look at the statue. “Nines?” 

“Parker James arrived in Detroit 34 months, 3 weeks and.... 2 days ago,” 

_By the angel even his voice is fucking perfect_ , Gavin thought to himself, finding himself staring back into Nines’ deep grey eyes. 

“Approximately,” Nines added on, not breaking eye contact with Gavin.

“Do you think Parker is capable of this?” Gavin asked, struggling more than ever to keep his voice level. When Nines’ lips cracked into a grim smile Gavin wanted nothing more than to launch himself across the couch and into Nines’ arms and kiss those perfect lips.

 _Fucking bloodsuckers and their stupid perfect fucking faces and their stupid fucking magic_ , Gavin thought, regardless of the fact that he would _know_ if he was being encantoed by the vampire.

“I do. Many of our kind are,” he spoke grimly.

Tina cleared her throat. “If you have any information about him, please tell us. Especially if he’s visited recently.”

Connor turned back to face the Nephilim. “He hasn’t, but I can ask around the clan if any of them have gone to his blood den recently.” 

Nines cleared his throat, breaking his eyes away from Gavin to look at his sire, who turned to look back at him, head tilting to the side as they exchanged a handful of silent, subtly changing looks, before nodding. 

“Would you excuse us a moment?” Connor asked.

“Of course,” Tina said, and Connor excused himself and Nines from the room, carrying the blood with him.


	2. Head in the Dust

When they were out of the room, Nines felt the tension fall away. The moment the door was latched closed, he turned to Connor.

“What aren’t you telling them?” His sire asked.

“PJ dropped by three days ago. You were out, so Kara brought him to me. He was panicked out of his mind, saying he’d screwed up and lost a human,” Nines replied, his formal way of speaking falling away with his sire.

“Fuck, what did you do?”

“Sent him away. He’s on your list to keep away from the clan because he’s too destabilizing. But he talked to some on the way out, they all left tonight.”

“Fucking hell, Nines, why didn’t you tell me this when it happened?”

“You were in a mood when you got back.” 

Connor squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Okay. Okay. Okay, here’s what we do. We tell them he visited, we tell them he spoke with you and that you don’t remember what he said and that you thought it non-consequential, and didn’t share that with me.”

Nines nodded, and Connor continued. “And you, I know you have your issues, but you will serve as the Institute liaison for the duration of this investigation.” Nines opened his mouth to protest and Connor held up his hand, “I’m not done. If they say jump, you say how high. Anything they want, you do. Is that understood?”

“Connor, I’m not sure-”

“Nines, you know the Shadowhunters better than any of us. You know their customs. You know their stupid fucking colour-coded dress. The clan needs you on this.  _ I _ need you on this.” 

Nines sighed, rubbing his face with his hands before meeting his sire’s eyes. “Fine.”

Connor nodded, fixing Nines’ shirt. “You’ll be fine. If it gets to be too much, just run back here.” 

Connor turned back to the door and walked back into the room. Nines took a deep breath before following him and feeling his body tense up at the sight of the Shadowhunters. He set his jaw, and stared at a point on the wall as Connor informed them of his new role as their liaison. The woman thanked them for their cooperation and said they’d be more than happy to accommodate him at the Institute. 

Nines walked them to the main door to the office, turning back to Connor as they grabbed their weapons, hoping he’d signal a change of mind. Connor simply finished his drink and turned back to his desk. Nines sighed and turned back to the Shadowhunter man less than a yard away from him. From this distance, Nines could see what he’d already smelled. The Shadowhunter’s ears came to slight points, marking him as a part-fae. 

Nines waved his hand and waved Kara away as she approached. She nodded and walked past, whispering a quick good luck under her breath. 

“Good luck? What, do they think you’re going to kill us?” the part-fae asked. Nines glared at him.

“Let me make one thing clear, I  _ do not _ like nephilim. If I could, I would be as far away from you as possible,” Nines responded, his voice cold as ice.

“We didn’t ask for you to liaison for us, downworlder,” the man snapped back, glaring back at Nines.

“No, you didn’t, but the head of my clan did.” He didn’t back down, glaring right back, snarling ever so slightly. The Shadowhunter moved to take a step forward when the woman placed a hand on each of their chests, shoving them apart, her stele in her hair and a new strength rune slowly disappearing into the skin of her forearm.

“That's enough. Gavin, back off, this is a good thing. And you,” she turned to Nines, glaring up at him with her arms crossed, and Nines found himself actually being  _ intimidated _ by her. “Your friend asked you to help us, and we’re less than five feet from his office door. Can we at least find this rogue vamp before you two go at each other?”

Nines looked down at the shorter Shadowhunters, arms crossed as he tensely nodded.

“Good. Now, are we walking back, or can we expect another car?” 

“The car will meet us out front.” Nines walked past both of them, hearing a quick muttered argument followed by stumbling feet. He assumed she’d shoved the part-fae towards the stairs to follow. 

Nines stepped out of the double doors, enchanted to open when a vampire walked towards them. They swung open and he continued through to the drive, climbing into the car that was already waiting there. Sitting with his back to the dividers, he watched the Shadowhunters climb in, the woman closing the door behind her. Nines tapped on the divider and the car began to move, keeping his eyes focused out the back window.

“I don’t think we had a chance to introduce ourselves. I’m Tina Chen, this is Gavin Reed, my parabatai.” Nines felt his heart clench at the mention of their bond, not betraying anything externally.

“Nines.”

“What kind of name is  _ Nines _ ?” 

Nines’ eyes snapped to Gavin. “One I chose when my family disowned me and cast me out of society,” Nines replied harshly.

“Oh.” Gavin shifted awkwardly. “Sorry.”

Nines tilted his head curiously. Most nephilim weren’t in the habit of apologizing to downworlders. They passed the rest of the car ride in silence, before pulling up to the park the Institute sat in.

Gavin and Tina climbed out each door, and Nines pulled down the divider to thank the driver and release him for the night before climbing out himself. As he stood up, he straightened his shirt.

“Most Institutes are on hallowed ground for extra protection,” he stated, looking at the Detroit Institute. He, like all of his kind, knew that this Institute was one of the few exceptions.

“Detroit was a safe haven for downworlders long before the Clave established an Institute here. It was seen as a compromise,” Gavin stated in response.

“I know, Mr. Reed. I was at the negotiations.”

“You’re not  _ that _ old, are you?” Tina asked. Nines could tell she wasn’t asking to be rude.

“The Detroit Institute was established in 1857, I was born in 1791.”

“Where are you from, Nines?” She asked as they began walking towards the Institute.

“Bath, England, originally. Connor established himself as the head of a clan out here in the 30s and asked me to join him in the 40s.”

“So you’ve only been here for, what, 100 years?” Gavin asked, and for the first time since he’d met the man there was no hostility in his voice, just curiosity.

“The 1840s, Mr. Reed,” Nines replied, continuing with the tone of voice he’d been using with Tina, “I have been calling Detroit home for nearly 200 years. How about you two?”

“We grew up here, trained here,” Tina answered.

“And your travelling year?” he asked, again out of genuine curiosity.

“London, and someone brought back a permanent souvenir,” Gavin answered, his tone of voice teasing his parabatai as they entered the Institute.

Nines froze just inside the doorway, moving to the side to remain out of the way. Institutes really hadn’t changed much since the 1820s. Now they had screens and technology, but there was the distinct scent of runes and magic in the air, mingling with the stench of ichor. The movement as patrols came in from the night and the others recorded information in files. It was a familiar movement. 

Nines moved forward as if in a trance, standing back from the central operations room, watching as Tina and Gavin made their way to a screen where another man and woman stood. He watched, eyes wide with shock, as Tina wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist and kissed her. In the middle of the ops centre. He caught sight of the marriage rune on their hands and felt his breath catch in his throat as he froze. Every muscle in his body froze as he waited for someone to say something, but to his even greater shock, the people around them continued about their lives, not even giving the pair a second glance.

“Oh, great, now we’ve got a downworlder in the  _ Institute _ . What’s next? Runing vampires?” A man sneered at Nines, snapping him out of his trance. This dislike, this was what he’d expected.

“Elijah, fuck off, he’s here to help,” Nines was surprised to hear Gavin’s voice coming to his defense.

“Come  _ on, _ Gavin. First Institutes establishing downworlder councils, and the fucking  _ Inquisitor _ is married to one. Isn’t that enough without having them as uninvited guests?”

“He’s here to help, and he’s been invited,” Gavin moved to put himself between the man and Nines.

“By who?”

“By me. So if you have a problem, shut up and shove off before I make you,” Gavin’s statement was met with a glare.

“Dad wouldn’t approve.”

“ _ Dad _ never approves of anything I do. What makes this any different?” Gavin’s response was ice cold. “Now, like I said, fuck off, Elijah.”

The Shadowhunter shot one last glare to Nines before moving on. Gavin took a long shallow breath before turning to face Nines.

“Sorry about him. My brother’s a dick on his best days, a narcissistic megalomaniac on his worst,” Gavin said, beginning to walk down a hall, gesturing for Nines to follow him. “That being said, you’ll probably do better to hold any  _ outdated _ opinions to yourself.” There was a protective edge to his voice.

“I am sorry, Mr. Reed, I seem to have offended you somehow?” He turned his statement into a question, head tilted slightly as he looked at Gavin as they stopped just out of earshot of the ops centre.

“I’m not an idiot, and I’m certainly not a blind one. I saw the look you were giving Tina and Val,” his tone was equally protective of his parabatai and her wife, and accusatory.

“Oh, you misunderstand.” Nines held up his hands. “The last time I was in an Institute was 200 years ago. Most society didn’t accept that as a possibility until nearly 50 years ago,  _ if that _ .” Gavin’s gaze grew colder, and Nines sighed, dropping his hands. “I know from experience, Mr. Reed, how society felt about queerness, I lived through it.” Gavin’s gaze didn’t change and Nines rolled his eyes and shook his head, lowering his voice. “I was disowned for it, Mr. Reed.”

Gavin frowned, blinking up at Nines as what he’d said registered. His gaze softened, beyond neutrality. There was pity in his eyes, and Nines looked away.

“Do not waste your pity on me, Mr. Reed. I neither need nor want it.”

This time the Shadowhunter held up his hands in defense, turning back to the hall. “We have a hell of a lot of empty rooms down this hall, just pick one and hold your hand to the door and it’ll register as taken. We’re working on finding excess blood, do you feed every night like Connor?”

“No, I feed as little as possible.” When Gavin’s stare remained blank, Nines clarified, “Once a week. I fed last night.”

“And bagged is-”

“Preferable. By far.” Nines interrupted.

“That's a first.”

“As far as I know, I am one of maybe 20 Night Children who prefer bagged. Most of us have some form of trauma related to our own turning, or aversion to blood, meaning it is easier to drink cold.” They reached the end of the hallway of empty rooms.

“And you?”

Nines smiled politely, placing his hand against the door furthest from the rest of the occupied rooms. “Good morning, Mr. Reed,” he said, slipping into the room and closing the door behind him, running around and closing all the curtains before the sun rose in the next few minutes.

Gavin frowned at the door that was closed in his face, shaking his head and making his way back down the hall to his own room. His door was open and Tina, Valerie, and Chris were sitting on his bed and desk.

Gavin groaned. “What is this about this time?” He caught the small rubber ball Val chucked at his head.

“Stop being mean to the vampire!” She chastised.

“I was not  _ mean _ to him.”

“Gav, you were 50/50 on ripping out his throat or begging him to dick you down,” Tina flicked a ball of paper at his head. “Or at least shove you against the wall and-”

“Okay 1, No to all of that, and 2, stop throwing shit at me!”

“Dude, even  _ I _ saw the look you were giving him. And I’m stupid about this shit,” Chris said, and Tina and Val both pointed at him.

“Oh, are we talking about Gavin wanting the vamp to fuck him into the wall?” Lazzo’s voice came from behind him and Gavin turned to glare at the 18 year old.

“You know, your year here’s almost up, asshole, watch your step,” Gavin warned teasingly. The four of them had already requested Lazzo’s placement at the Detroit Institute be made permanent. Fowler said he’d bring it up with the Charleston Institute.

“Like you could survive without me,” Lazzo said, handing him his set of throwing knives. “You know no one knows your Fair Folk shit like I do.”

Gavin rolled his eyes as Lazzo sat next to Tina, who threw her arm around the kid’s shoulders.

“So are you all going to stay here and not let me get any sleep today?” Gavin asked, letting the door fall closed before Elijah decided to join the party.

“What did Elijah say?” Tina asked, pointing to her own forehead and Gavin realized he’d been frowning since he’d entered his room.

“He was Elijah. Pissed about Downworlders being treated like people.” Gavin pulled off his outer tack gear, tossing it into the corner, “Every single time he opens his mouth, I get even happier that he got dad.”

“Even if you got abandonment issues in return?” Tina pointed out teasingly.

“T, shut up,” he said, returning her teasing tone. Gavin laid down on his bed and kicked the three people on the end off. “Now seriously, get out. I’m tired as fuck.”

Tina rolled her eyes, ushering everyone out of the room before turning back. “You sure you’re good?”

“Yeah, T. I’m fine.”

“The day you’re  _ actually _ fine will be the day pigs fly,” she said.

“I’m fine for me, how’s that?”

“Better. Love you, Gav, goodnight,” she said, turning to leave the room.

“Love you too, now fuck off,” he groaned, realizing he hadn’t closed the blackout curtains.

Rolling out of bed, he began to close the curtains. He’d meant what he’d said. Every time Elijah talked, he was more and more glad their dad had abandoned him in the Detroit Institute while they went to Idris and Elijah became top of his class at the academy. 

And sure, objectively, he knew he had abandonment issues because of it, but he couldn’t fathom how much of a shitty person he would’ve been if he’d gone too. Well, how much of a shittier person. 

_ “I was disowned for it, Mr. Reed.” _ Nines’ words echoed in his head with a sense of familiarity. His mother’s family hadn’t even tried to step in when his father fucked off. His step-mother wanted nothing to do with him, and the only interaction he had with Elijah was when he was a kid and expected someone with downworlder blood to simply obey someone with “pure” blood. 

Gavin reached up subconsciously and ran his fingers over his slightly pointed ears. He remembered Faerie, his mother’s home world. He’d spent much of his childhood there, training with the Seelie Knights. He’d spent so much time there he’d developed an even better sense than those he would’ve inherited from his mother’s genes alone. He was several years older than his brother, but with the time spent in Faerie, they appeared to be the same age. 

Gavin remembered clear as crystal the day his mother had been found murdered. He’d been the one to find her, after all. Cold and still. He’d screamed and screamed until his mother’s friend had found them. 

He remembered how quickly things changed. 

The Seelie Knight explained to him that he was going to live with his father, what his father had begun to think of downworlders, and what that would mean for Gavin. They helped him hide his ears under his hair, hoping that hiding the tell-tale sign of his Seelie blood would make it easier for him. 

Gavin remembered the Seelie Knight’s promise that they would be there, if he ever needed them. He remembered them handing him off to his father, promising them that no matter what, he would always be proud of where he’d come from. He felt the familiar pang of guilt whenever he remembered that promise. 

He was trying to be proud of it again, but hiding it had become a secondary survival instinct, right after “stab it if it looks bad”.

He remembered the day Tina and her family had moved to the Detroit Institute. The Chens had taken him under their wing, her mother braiding his curls out of the way before she’d braided Tina’s. The way they’d trained him and Tina side by side. The proud looks they’d both given them when they told them that they wanted to become parabatai. 

He remembered before he’d asked Tina, telling her about what he was, and why he was so scared they’d leave him. And he remembered Tina’s arms, wrapping around him as tight as possible as she promised she wasn’t going anywhere. 

He knew now that no matter what, they had each other, and now they had Val and Chris too. When Lazzo had shown up, all alone and terrified, he remembered looking at the kid standing in the entrance to the ops centre and seeing himself. He remembered not even thinking twice as he walked up to him, picking up the bag he’d dropped and pulling the kid along with him.

Gavin rubbed his face with his hands, trying to stop the torrent of memories before he slept. He groaned, getting up and walking to the corner of his room where his gear sat. He pulled out his stele and walked back to his bed, drawing the sleep rune on his leg. He placed the stele on his bedside table in the few moments it took to take effect, and then fell into a dreamless sleep.


	3. Feet in the Fire

Nines was woken from his sleep at 8pm by a banging on the door. 

“Got an idea! C’mon, vamp! Lets get a move on!” Gavin’s voice echoed through the door and Nines sighed, yanking it open before he could continue banging.

“ _ What _ , exactly, is your lead?”

“I looked up where the body was found, found a few others that look  _ suspiciously _ like vamp murders, found a place where some vamps  _ love _ dumping bodies.”

“Why do I feel like I will hate where this is going?” Nines grumbled, following Gavin to the portal.

“You probably will!” Gavin said, much too cheerily for Nines’ liking.

Gavin yanked Nines through the portal, and Nines gagged.

“Mr. Reed, I am unsure  _ what _ you expect to find in a  _ literal _ garbage dump,” Nines said, glaring.

“Listen, this is the  _ closest _ landfill to where the bodies were discovered. I bet we’ll find more bodies here.”

“Not that I will be of  _ any _ use to you.”

“Relax, Nines. Jeez, you’d think you’d be used to-”

“If you are about to insinuate that I live in a landfill, I would thank you to stop right where you are and consider the fact that  _ I _ am second in command to the largest vampire clan in Detroit and  _ I _ do  _ not _ dumpster dive.”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist,  _ asshole _ . I was  _ saying _ that you’d be used to scents being stronger by now.”

“I repeat, Mr. Reed, I have not been to a landfill.”

Something crashed a few trash piles over, and both of them fell silent. Nines watched something dart out with vampire speed and moved to intercept it.

He felt sharp nails and teeth rip at his skin and the creature ran away, then felt blood trickle from his neck and shoulders, a slow but steady stream, healing too slow.

“ _ Shit,” _ Gavin said under his breath, holding up a dagger from his belt, the blade thrumming gently. “There's demons somewhere in here.”

Nines looked for somewhere relatively clean to begin to focus on healing his wounds and caught sight of a small shed, likely for staff breaks when this landfill was still in use. He raised a bloody hand and pointed to it silently and Gavin nodded.

Nines moved fast, faster than Gavin, and collapsed in a dark corner of the shed, trailing blood the whole way, with more continuing to pool as he leaned against the wall. Maybe he was more gravely injured than he’d previously thought.

Gavin immediately began barricading the door, quietly complaining. “What the  _ fuck _ , I brought you to  _ watch my back _ and you just  _ run _ ahead not giving two-” He turned and  _ finally _ noticed the blood streaming down Nines’ body. “What the  _ hell happened _ ?”

“Vamp, running at you. I had your back,” Nines said, mimicking Gavin’s words back to him, as he slid down the wall. “For the record, I have gone _two centuries_ without being viciously attacked. I am placing the blame _solely_ on you.”

Gavin twisted the blade around in his hand, the glow having grown brighter. “You need blood.”

“ _ Thank you _ for your astute observation, Mr. Reed.  _ Whatever _ would I do without your knowledge of my own species?

“Shut up, bloodsucker.” Gavin began to roll back his sleeve.

“ _ No _ ,” Nines said as firmly as he could.

“We don’t exactly have  _ options _ right now. And I  _ really _ don’t want to start a war with the Downworld because you’re too  _ fucking picky _ about who you drink from.”

“Mr. Reed-” 

Gavin cut Nines off by placing a short, shallow cut on the inside of his forearm, just under the black line of a rune. Nines’ vision tunneled the minute the scent of Gavin’s blood reached him. 

His throat  _ ached _ , he was  _ parched _ . And Gavin... Gavin’s blood, out in the open, red and shimmering in the low light, smelt  _ divine _ .

He knew how addictive Nephilim blood was. He knew how addictive  _ Seelie _ blood was. 

But that  _ smell _ . It overwhelmed every single one of his senses.

And Gavin was shoving his bleeding arm in Nines’ face. His pupils must be  _ completely _ dilated. 

No matter how much he hated it... He gave in, and bit down. 

His years of practice kept much of his venom from entering Gavin’s system, but the taste... It was  _ heavenly _ . Literally.

He’d only ever drunk from one living being before, when he was newly Turned. And Gavin’s blood... Was a  _ million times better _ .

It reminded him of warm sunshine, of dew on the grass, of moss covered paths in the forest. It reminded him of being  _ alive _ . 

And Nines kept drinking, feeling the wounds begin to close as the blood entered his system.

And then he felt the high hit, and he was floating away, up and out of his body. Number than anything had ever made him before.

He forced Gavin’s arm away with all the strength that he could muster. Every  _ ounce _ of it went to forcing himself to let go of Gavin, to not killing him.

He dug his nails into his palms, slumping back against the wall. His eyes raced across the ceiling as he tried to force the high down.  _ Tried _ . 

_ Connor isn’t here _ , he thought. 

_ I could just keep drinking _ , he thought.

_ No one would know _ .

But he would. 

He saw Connor’s face in his mind when he’d crawled out of his grave, relieved. He’d slapped Nines and then hugged him as tight as he could. 

_ “Don’t scare me like that,” _ he’d said.

He’d barely fought off an addiction before, and as he looked at Gavin in the dimming light of the blade, he wasn’t sure how he’d fight this addiction. Especially when he looked over to Nines and grinned a bright, unguarded grin that would’ve made Nines’ heart stop if it still beat normally.

He decided to keep his distance, keeping someone between him and Gavin at all times. Not being alone with Gavin. 

Pretending not to notice the beat of Gavin’s heart. Pretending he wasn’t counting the beats to keep himself sane.

Pretending he couldn’t pick Gavin out from a crowd because of it. 

Pretending he  _ didn’t _ notice Gavin biting his lip when planning something. He certainly didn’t notice how, every time after he bit his lip, his tongue would dart out for a moment and moisten his lips.

_ I’m so, completely, utterly fucked _ . 

He forced himself to focus on something else,  _ anything _ else, for two weeks. Avoiding Gavin like the goddamned plague. 

Until, at the end of the two weeks, just as Nines had  _ thought _ he’d gotten the scent out of his mind, Gavin was injured in a hunt. Nothing major, but he came into the ops centre, hand to the back of his shoulder, and blood slowly drying on what was the open wound.

Nines felt his vision tunnel, focusing on Gavin and the intoxicating scent of his blood. He turned and forced himself to walk down the deserted hallway to his room, slamming the door shut in his wake.

“What the  _ fuck _ is up with you?” Tina asked from the doorway, his door open  _ again _ .

“I do not expect you to understand, Mrs. Chen.”

“You’ve been avoiding Gavin like he’s fucking radioactive waste. Did he do something?”

“ _ No _ ,” Nines said, possibly a little too forcefully. But it was not Gavin’s fault his blood was  _ literally _ the most intoxicating thing Nines had ever consumed. And that was saying a lot.

Tina raised an eyebrow. “So,  _ what happened _ ?”

“I needed blood, we were cornered, he gave me his.”

“And you’re having some sort of vamp-sex crisis over it?”

Nines recoiled in shock. “ _ I am  _ **_not_ ** .”

“You sure ‘bout that?”

“Gavin may be attractive, but I do not experience, nor have I ever experienced, any sexual desire  _ whatsoever _ .”

“So, again,  _ what the fuck is up with you _ ?”

Nines dug his palms into his eyes and sighed. “Nephilim blood and Seelie blood are both  _ highly _ addictive. To the point that there are  _ rules _ in the Downworld about drinking from Seelies. Nephilim blood is  _ incredibly _ potent.”

Tina took a step back warily. “You’ve drunk from Shadowhunters before?”

“ _ No _ . I’ve only drunk from two living beings: Gavin Reed, and a bleeder when I was first Turned.” 

“So...?”

“While my initial addiction to my drug of choice was burned out of my system when I was Turned, I am acutely aware of how easy it would be to fall back into that addiction, and Gavin is,  _ quite literally _ , a dangerous habit in the making. Even before I tasted his blood.”

“Oh,” she said. “So it isn’t because you realized you wanna make out with him and freaked?”

Nines froze and stared at her.

“I see all, vampire. I see  _ all _ .”

“You- I do  _ not _ \- How did you-” Nines sputtered.

“Just accept it, sweetie. Accept it and move on,” she said, opening the door to leave. “Oh, and  _ stop avoiding Gavin _ . He thinks he did something wrong.”

“He most certainly did not.”

“Then  _ tell him _ instead of hiding in your  _ room _ .”

Which is why, at 4 in the morning, Nines quietly knocked on Gavin’s door.

A sleepy-eyed Gavin opened it and narrowed his eyes at Nines. “What the hell do  _ you _ want?”

“To apologize. I realize that the past couple weeks, while I have been intentionally keeping my distance from you, you may have decided that you did something to offend me. You did not.” Nines met Gavin’s eyes, steady and unwavering. If anything, his parents' expectations had trained him to be calm and perfect in any circumstance. “When I was still mortal I grew addicted to several substances and came to rely on them. Turning cleansed them, and the addiction, from my system, but I am  _ acutely aware _ of how easy it is for me to get hooked on things. Both Nephilim blood and Seelie blood are incredibly addicting on their own. Many vampires have been known to chase the highs that come with consuming angel-laced blood, but combined... 

“I have never experienced that pure of a high, and I am aware that this may make you feel awkward but I have  _ literally _ forced myself to keep a distance between us so I don’t kill you. Because, against all odds, I find you intriguing. And I haven’t found many people that intrigue me.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” Gavin asked, a small, shit-eating grin on his face.

“I am  _ saying _ ,” Nines said, ignoring how Gavin’s smirk made his undead and mostly useless stomach do summersaults, “that we are stuck with each other, for however long this investigation lasts. I would like it if we could find some median between complete aversion and detestation.”

“That is not a word.”

“It is, look it up. And it is  _ besides the point _ , Mr. Reed.”

“So what?” Gavin leaned against his door. “Friends or whatever?”

“Let's start with  _ allies _ first, shall we?” Nines held out his hand in an offer.

“Fine. Allies. Whatever.” Gavin shook his hand. “Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to disturb your rest.” He turned to leave.

“You use contractions when you’re not guarding yourself, you know that, right?” Gavin observed, closing the door before Nines could respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	4. Careful Son, You Got Dreamer's Plans

Gavin woke up to his alarm going off at around 1pm, and several missed texts from Tina. Another mundane had been found drained of their blood. A wolf on the police force contacted them.

He rolled out of bed and pulled on a new set of clothes before shoving his stele in his pocket and strapping his throwing knives to his belt. Pocketing his phone, he opened the door to find Nines standing outside, about to knock.

“Ah, Mr. Reed. Tina sent me to make sure you were awake. The alpha of the Detroit pack is arriving shortly with the body of the most recent victim,” he spoke, formal tone as infuriatingly perfect as ever.

“Oh, great, we’re going to get lots of insight into this now,” Gavin spoke sarcastically.

“I am afraid I do not follow your train of thought, Mr. Reed.”

Gavin sighed, walking out and closing the door. “Our pathologist’s name is Simon Dewwell, he’s been drooling over Markus Manfred since he first met the guy. Markus also drools over him, according to Josh. Josh is Markus’ second. We’ve spent a lot of time watching the two of them fumble around each other. It's exhausting and infuriating.”

“Because Markus is a werewolf and Simon is a Shadowhunter?” Nines asked and Gavin narrowed his eyes.

“I’m not my brother, Nines. I couldn’t care less about what they are. It’s infuriating that neither of them will make the first move, and haven’t made  _ any _ moves in 5 years.”

“Ah, my apologies.” Nines looked at Gavin before they entered the analytics wing of the Institute. “You do not have a typical Shadowhunter name, Mr. Reed, I assume you kept your mother’s Seelie name.”

“Seelies don’t have last names,” Gavin answered stiffly. Nines nodded, realizing he’d hit a sore point.

“Again, my apologies, Mr. Reed, I did not mean to offend you.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “It’s fine.” 

With that, Gavin shoved the door open, taking in the fact that both Markus and Josh were standing against the wall, the body bag sitting closed on the table. Tina was helping Simon prepare something before he began the autopsy.

“Markus, Josh, good to see you both,” Gavin’s diplomatic tone returned, although this time it wasn’t as much of a neutrality as it was a habit. The wolves and Simon weren’t a part of his close circle of friends, but they were friends.

“Gavin, glad to see you and Tina are the ones handling this.” Markus shook Gavin’s hand in a familiar gesture of greeting.

“Nines, good to see you out of the manor for once,” Josh directed at Nines, who simply stood in the corner and nodded stiffly; he could smell the body from there.

“Unfortunately, this particular vampire is another of Connor’s fledglings,” Nines spoke with a more familiar tone, but it was still guarded. Gavin noticed his friends had noticeably tensed at the presence of a vampire. The eternal feud between the two Downworlder sects was so old no one could pinpoint why or how it had started.

“And we all know Connor hasn’t bothered keeping track of them since you took over, what, 100 years ago?” Markus said, arms crossing.

“200. I really do not mind, it gives me something to do,” Nines answered and a strange, tense silence set in over the four of them, only broken by Simon’s voice.

“Okay, squeamish beings leave the room now, we’re getting started,” he said, looking at Josh.

“Yeah, that’s my cue.” He turned to Markus. “See you back at the station,” he said, waving goodbye to Tina and Simon.

Nines stood back from the table, arms crossed, as Simon opened the body bag. The victim was indeed a mundane, one with long, dyed silver hair, and Simon began cataloguing the series of bites.

Gavin looked to Tina and Simon. They clearly hadn’t smelt the same scent he had, and he looked to Nines. “Do you smell that too?”

Nines nodded and Simon looked up, frowning at Gavin. “Smell what?”

“I don’t know. It smells strange though,”

Nines gritted his teeth, walking to the body and gently turning over their limbs. Brushing their hair to the side, he found what he was looking for. The skin just above the mundane’s lips was covered in a fine powder. Running his finger through it, Nines rubbed the powder between his fingers.

“What the hell is  _ that _ ?” Gavin asked as Simon took a sample.

“I’ll run an analysis-”

“No need,” Nines interrupted Simon. “This is yin fen. A drug made from diluted vampire venom, derived from the now-extinct demonic blood-based drug. This version, a more modern formula of yin fen, is easier and cheaper to make, and is a gateway for many of the mundanes who attend bleeder dens.”

“You have experience with this substance?” Gavin asked, his voice taking on an accusatory tone.

“Connor banned the production, distribution, and use of the original yin fen in the clan the moment he took over. When this formula appeared, he tightened the ban further, extending the ban to the selling of any member’s venom for the production of the drug.”

“How do you enforce a ban like that?” Tina asked, as Nines rubbed the powder off his fingers.

“On pain of death, of course,” Nines replied, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“Why take such a hard line on a drug but not on the use of bleeders?” Gavin asked, his arms crossing.

“Yin fen is a personal issue for Connor, and for several of my siremates as well. Connor wanted us to feel welcome.” 

“Is that why he’s been distant to us? Does one of your siremates have an issue with the Nephilim?” Tina asked. Nines looked between the three Shadowhunters, all looking at him. Nines crossed his arms.

“I mean no offense, but many of us, Connor and myself included, lived through the centuries of trophy hunting. We all have a healthy dose of distrust for Shadowhunters, with good reason. The only downworlders who continue to trust your kind implicitly are the wolves, and even they are not entirely comfortable with your kind. Even with the alliance rune, the Accords, and the Inquisitor being decidedly pro-downworlder, we know you could renege on your promises with little thought.” Nines took a pause, feeling a familiar tingling sensation across the back of his hand. “The ease with which you turn your back on your own kind when they are de-runed is proof enough of that.”

“Got experience with the de-runed, do ya?” Gavin asked, and Nines noticed his neutrality was back to frigidity.

“There have been more than one former Shadowhunters among the various clans I have been a member of in my 247 years,” Nines stated, closing the questioning down before any of them asked more specific questions.

Simon nodded, continuing with the autopsy. Nines focused on one part of the wall as the scents assaulted his senses. It quickly became too much, and he walked out of the room and down the hall, stopping in a dark corner and gasping for air. Leaning back against the wall, hiding in the shadows.

“Oh, look what we have here, Gavin’s new pet downworlder,” the man from before, Elijah, was standing in front of him, a handful of Shadowhunters behind him, sneering in Nines’ direction.

“I do not believe we’ve met, my name-”

“I don’t care what you call yourself, you’re a fucking  _ demon _ , same as the creatures we were created to destroy.”

Nines just set his jaw, ignoring what he was saying. When he seemed to be done with his tirade, he turned to walk away.

Elijah grabbed his arm, dragging him back. “Did I say you could leave, downworlder?” 

Nines jerked his arm out of the man’s grip and the man responded by throwing a punch at Nines’ face. Nines dropped to the floor, rolling out of Elijah’s reach and standing up in one fluid motion. He watched Elijah’s sneer turn into a full faced snarl. He pulled his weapon, a thick, broad seraph blade, about the length of the man’s arm. Elijah rotated his wrist, and Nines looked at the Shadowhunters standing behind him. This was Elijah putting on a show. 

He should’ve just taken the punch.

Elijah lunged at him and Nines shifted out of the way, feeling the blade knick his side. Elijah continued lunging at him, the two of them moving further and further down the hall, closer and closer to the ops centre. Nines dropped to the ground, sweeping Elijah’s feet out from under him, knocking him off balance long enough for Nines to take the several steps back to be seen by the ops centre. As expected, Elijah growled and lunged at Nines again.

Nines parried the blade with his forearm, feeling it knick into his skin again. He wrapped his arm around the seraph blade, using Elijah’s momentum against him and forcing the blade out of his grip, knocking it to the ground. 

“You’re going to regret that!” Elijah growled, throwing another punch at Nines’ face. He shifted out of the way as another person grabbed Elijah’s wrist mid-punch and shoved his shoulders back.

“Back off, Elijah,” the Shadowhunter couldn’t’ve been more than 19, and that was being  _ generous _ . He was a few inches shorter than Nines, black hair a wild mess. 

“Stay out of it, Lazzo, you don’t get it,” Elijah growled at the kid.

“I get that you’re a backwards asshole who can’t get his head out of his own narcissistic ass for more than three seconds,” the kid shot back. “Now, you and your friends can fuck off, or I can call Fowler and get you disciplined,  **_again_ ** .”

Elijah glared at the kid, but he wasn’t backing down. A few tense moments passed and Elijah rolled his eyes, brushing it off and walking away, his lackeys following after him. The kid shook his head, turning to face Nines.

“I’m sorry about them, Elijah’s an asshole,” the kid held his hand out to Nines. “I’m Lazzo. You’re Nines, right?”

He took it, shaking the kid’s hand. “I am, yes.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the analytics wing?” he asked.

“Too much blood,” Nines supplied simply. Lazzo tilted his head, a confused frown crossing his face.

“But... You’re a vampire... Blood’s your  _ thing _ .”

“Yes, but the scent can still...” Nines paused, searching for the right word, “awaken certain urges I would like to keep suppressed.”

Lazzo nodded, “That makes sense.” The kid frowned again, looking at Nines’ arm. “Elijah got a few hits in, huh?”

Nines turned over his arm, examining the cut and the slash on his ribs. “I’ve survived worse. Might need some blood earlier than expected.” 

At that moment Gavin turned down the hall. “What the hell happened?” he exclaimed, speeding up his pace to join Lazzo and Nines.

“Your brother, charming man he is, decided to further prove my theory that Shadowhunters do not change as easily as the Clave would have us believe,” Nines replied dryly, holding up his forearm.

Gavin took the vampire’s wrist in one hand and his elbow in the other, looking the cuts over. “Elijah’s a special kind of bigoted asshole. He and his  _ friends _ are in the minority.” He turned to look at the kid. “Back up the tapes before they erase them, send them to Fowler.” Lazzo nodded and disappeared back into the ops centre.

“Mr. Reed, I am fine.”

Gavin turned back to Nines, looking at him. “I get the feeling you and I have similar definitions of the word fine. C’mon.” 

He began walking down another hall, peeking his head into another room, having a quick conversation with the sole occupant. Looking through the crack in the door Nines recognized it as the infirmary. A small girl was sitting on a bed, kicking her feet impatiently as another tall Shadowhunter returned to the door and handed Gavin something. When Gavin turned back, he saw that it was a blood bag.

“You’re in luck, we have some mundane blood in stock.”

“Connor sent some over, correct?” Nines asked.

“Special delivery, just for you.” Gavin handed Nines the blood bag before continuing to walk down the hall, gesturing for Nines to continue to follow. “Do you like, stick a straw in it like a CapriSun?”

Nines caught up with the Shadowhunter. “What the hell is a CapriSun?”

“Nevermind.”

Gavin stopped in front of a door, drawing a rune on the handle and opening it, and Nines took it in. Tall, floor to ceiling windows were covered with dark grey blackout curtains over them. The room looked exactly like how a Shadowhunter was trained to keep their room. Few personal items, few possessions outside of their weapons and clothing. Gavin gestured to the desk chair, inviting Nines to sit. 

As he sat, he watched Gavin unclip the knives from his belt. He looked at the weapons sitting against the wall next to him closer as he emptied the blood bag into a cup Gavin handed him. 

“Seelie weapons, not seraph blades, that is hardly standard Shadowhunter gear,” Nines said as he sipped the blood, feeling the lurch of his stomach as his venom began to gather.

“I spent 10 years in Faerie, started my training there. I’m more comfortable with Seelie weapons than seraph blades,” Gavin explained, shrugging.

“If you were raised in Faerie, why are you here now?” Nines quickly added on, “If you do not mind me asking.”

Gavin’s ran his hand through his hair, his fingers grazing the tip of his ear. “My mother was found murdered in our home, my father came to collect me. I was born nearly 10 years before Elijah, but,” Gavin moved his hand in a small spiral, “Faerie time.” 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Reed.” 

Gavin shrugged again, not looking towards Nines. “Reed is the name my mother gave me. Gavin was the name my father insisted I take, he wouldn’t allow me to use his and his legitimate son’s last name, though. When the previous head of the Institute asked for my last name, I may have said Reed purely to spite my father.” He smiled wryly.

Nines tilted his head and looked at Gavin. “You are quite unlike any Nephilim I have previously met. Your friends as well.”

Gavin grinned, “I’m gonna to take that as a compliment.”

Nines smiled a small, genuine smile, “It was meant as one.”

A tablet on the desk next to Nines’ arm lit up. Gavin reached over and picked it up, unlocking it.

“We’ve got the conclusions from Simon’s autopsy, the body was drained as we expected, but he notated something strange carved into the back of the body, posthumously,” Gavin said, handing the tablet off to Nines. Nines placed his now empty glass on the desk, taking the tablet and tapping on the image.

“Does it look familiar to you?”

Nines’ eyes narrowed at the image. He recognized the carving, alright, and he was surprised Gavin hadn’t. He tapped the drawing tool, tracing two outlines in two different colours before turning the tablet back to Gavin. 

“Yes, it does.”

“Those... That’s the parabatai and marriage runes, why would a vampire carve them  _ together _ in the back of a mundane?”

“You really need to read up on your gay Nephilim history,” Nines stated, and when Gavin’s confusion didn’t fade, he continued. “Back in my time, Nephilim were not allowed to marry those of the same assigned gender, many of them chose to become parabatai instead. They would often form marriages of convenience with other parabatai pairs. This combination of runes,” he gestured to the outlined shapes, “would signify these pairings to others searching for somewhere safe.”

“So it’s a message?”

“It is.”

“To who?” Gavin asked.

Nines looked back at the familiar interwoven runes. “Connor has turned a handful of former Shadowhunters in his time. Parker is getting bolder.”

“Bolder?”

Nines stood and looked down at Gavin. “This many mundanes dying, one showing up high on a substance Connor banned on pain of death, many will say he is challenging Connor.”

“Do you think he’s challenging him?”

“No, I do not. I think he is trying to provoke a response from us.”

“Us?”

“Connor and I, and the Institute as well. The more mundanes he manages to kill, the more he proves Shadowhunters obsolete.”

“Nines, I have to ask, is this a personal message?”

Nines looked back down at the symbol. “That depends, Reed.”

“On what?”

Nines looked back at him. “For whom you believe the message is personal.”

“You know more about Shadowhunters than you let on, including a supposed secret combination of runes queer Shadowhunters used in the Regency period. You recognized the scent of yin fen, which none of us had ever even heard of, and you don’t appear in any of our records of Connor’s fledglings.”

Nines took a step forward, pushing himself into Gavin’s personal space. It could almost be considered a threat. Or it would, if Gavin had  _ any _ sense of self preservation, and Nines was beginning to learn he had none. “I’m not hearing a question, Reed.” His voice was dancing on the edge of being dangerous.

Gavin looked Nines in the eyes, meeting his narrowed gaze with his own questioning one. “I don’t have one. Not yet, at least.”

Nines reached out, brushing a curl from Gavin’s face and tucking it behind his ear, his fingers lingering just a moment on the slight point. 

“You should be careful what questions you ask, Reed. You may not like finding out where they lead.” His voice was low, and soft, almost cautioning. But there wasn’t enough of a warning tone to his voice to dissuade Gavin from continuing to question it. Perhaps at a later date. 

A knock on Gavin’s door broke them out of their stare-off, both of them looking to the door at the same time. Gavin stepped away from Nines to answer it.

“Hey T, what’s up?”

“Did you have Lazzo report Elijah to Fowler?”

“He attacked our liaison.”

“Is Nines okay?” Tina asked, her voice heavy with concern.

Nines peeked out from behind Gavin. “I am fine, Ms. Chen.”

Tina raised an eyebrow at Gavin, who just rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Well, since you’re both here, Chris suggested we head out and patrol around the bleeder den, see if we can catch anyone dumping a body.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Gavin said, heading to the corner his tack gear was sitting in, pulling on his jacket. 

“You need anything for a stakeout, Nines?” Tina asked.

“No, thank you, Tina. Just keep whatever vampire-specific weaponry you plan to bring as far from me as possible.” 

“Of course,” Tina said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	5. Got Nowhere to Run

Gavin stared at his wall of weapons. All but two of them were Seelie made, and he pulled down the shortsword and matching dagger, clipping their sheathes to his belt.

Tina and Nines stepped out of his room as he continued pulling on his tack gear. As he leaned down to tie his boots he caught sight of his voyance rune. Like all Shadowhunters, he had received it as a young child, enhancing his ability to see through glamors. 

Standing up, he did a quick test of his specially crafted armour. Once he was satisfied, he joined Nines and Tina in the hall.

“Are we walking, driving or portaling?” Gavin asked.

“I vote for portal,” Tina said, turning to Nines.

“Portal, please.”

“Portal it is,” Gavin said as Tina hooked their arms together. 

Gavin and Tina led the way to the set of false doors that covered the Institute’s portals. Gavin pulled out his stele, tracing the rune to open them, and they swung open gently. Tina stood between Gavin and Nines, looping her arms through theirs.

“Portal safety, boys,” she said, and Gavin shook his head fondly as they all stepped through the portal, thinking of the run down theatre that was hiding the den. Gavin closed his eyes on instinct and when he opened them, they were standing in a dark alley, across the street from the theatre.

“They will be able to smell you here, find somewhere downwind for us to watch from,” Nines said simply.

Gavin rolled his eyes, rolling up his sleeve and holding his arm to his parabatai, who drew a rune on the exposed skin, the black lines swirling to life as they sank into his skin. Gavin backed up to get a running start before jumping up and grabbing several small ledges on the sides of the alley. He grabbed hold of an old emergency fire escape ladder, releasing it and sending it down to Tina and Nines. 

Swinging onto the ladder, he scaled the rest of the building, reaching the flat roof. Holding his hand out, he grabbed first Tina’s hand, then Nines’, helping them both up onto the roof. 

“We got a straggler,” Tina said as Gavin grabbed another hand.

“Listen, it was either this or ichor duty, and I _really_ don’t want to do that five nights in a row,” Lazzo said.

“You shouldn’t have reported the person in charge of your assignments to Fowler,” Tina said, shooting a glare at Gavin.

“Either he reported it or I did, and we _know_ Fowler doesn’t believe anything I say.” Gavin held his hands up.

“How you feeling, Nines?” The kid asked, looking at the vampire.

“I am fine.”

“Gavin’s fine or real fine?” Both Tina and Lazzo asked.

“I hate both of you,” Gavin grumbled, still surveying the area.

“I am _fine_.” Nines answered.

“Tina, Lazzo, you two stay here. Nines, we’re going roof jumping,” Gavin interrupted, walking back to the edge of the roof before running full speed and jumping from one roof to the next. 

He ran at the street, jumping off the roof to the streetlamp, pulling himself up and launching himself across the narrow street, grabbing the streetlamp on the opposite side of the road. He dragged his body up and onto the main bar of the lamp, balancing precariously before leaping. Gavin’s hands just managed to catch onto the edge of the short wall that surrounded the flat roof of the building. He shifted, using the metal awning to the side to push himself up and over the wall, rolling onto the roof and landing on his back.

“There were easier ways to do that, Reed.” Gavin glared up at the vampire, who stood above him.

“Yes, but they would’ve been less fun.”

“I get the feeling that as similar as our definitions of fine may be, our definitions of _fun_ wildly differ,” Nines said, with a slight tinge of sarcasm in his voice. He offered Gavin a hand up, which was accepted. 

“Lighten up, Nines, we’ve got a long night in front of us,” he said, partially unzipping his jacket and pulling his shirt collar down, tracing the lines of his awareness rune. Gavin hissed under his breath as he felt the burning sensation as it activated.

“Are you alright, Reed?” Nines asked, genuine concern in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m great.” Gavin raised his stele to his hand, tracing his voyance rune, letting out another soft hiss of pain. “You’d think I’d be used to it by now.”

Nines’ brow furrowed. “Shadowhunters should not still experience pain when applying runes, most do not experience any.”

“Most Shadowhunters don’t have demonic blood running in their veins alongside their angelic and mundane blood,” Gavin pointed out, pointing to his ears with his stele. “It’s part of the reason mine remain more permanent than normal. It's more painful to redraw the rune than to just activate a pre existing one.” Gavin zipped his jacket the rest of the way, rolling his eyes at the look of concern that remained on Nines’ face. “Nines, I’m used to it. It's not going to stop me.”

Nines nodded, sitting on the roof, keeping an eye on the street and the theatre next door. Gavin sat behind him, leaning his back against the side wall.

“If you plan on asking more questions tonight, Reed, you should just ask them.”

“Did it hurt? Turning?”

Nines blinked, looking at him. It clearly wasn’t a question he was anticipating. He looked back to the street.

“Yes and no. Mentally, emotionally, it was horrible. Physically? Not really.”

“Why did Connor turn you?”

“We were friends, before he turned me. When I did not have another choice that would allow me to survive, he turned me.”

“Allow you to survive? You were dying?”

“In a way.”

“You could teach Seelies a thing or two about avoiding questions,” Gavin’s voice was sarcastic.

“I said you should ask your questions, not that I would answer them.”

“Fine, if you’re not actually going to answer my questions, ask your own,” Gavin challenged. Nines looked over his shoulder at the Shadowhunter, eyebrow raised. “Do you _want_ to sit here in absolute silence for the next 14 hours?”

“Fair point.” Nines settled in further. “How did your brother manage to be so.... _special?”_

Gavin laughed, “Elijah certainly thinks he is.” He shook his head. “Around a year after I started living with my father, he took his wife and Elijah to Idris, left me behind at the Institute, didn’t even bother saying goodbye. He visited for a few weeks at a time for the rest of my teenage-hood. Elijah didn’t come back until around two years ago.”

“Why did you choose Tina?”

“The real question is why she chose me. Still don’t know the answer to that one.” Gavin rested his head against the short wall. “She and her parents moved to Detroit halfway through my first year here. Her parents interceeded when my step-mother wanted me thrown out of the Institute.”

“Your step-mother wanted you thrown out of the Institute?”

Gavin focused on the voyance rune on his hand. “She advocated for my de-runeing.”

“How old were you?”

“10.”

“Had you even received your first rune?”

“My father had insisted that I would live like a Shadowhunter under his roof, less than 3 weeks after my mother died I was receiving my first rune. No special ceremony or anything, just a creepy Silent Brother and my dad.”

Gavin looked up when Nines placed his hand on top of his, covering the voyance rune. The vampire gently squeezed his hand.

“There’s a reason Elijah believes what he does, and I don’t,” Gavin said, meeting Nines’ eyes. “Why do you know so much about us?”

“That is a very long story, Reed,” Nines answered softly, scanning Gavin’s eyes for... something. Anything, really.

Gavin tilted his head, a slight uneven smirk crossing his lips. “We’ve got 14 hours.” Nines thought for a moment, opening his mouth to begin to answer. 

Then the scent hit him and his head snapped around back to the street, Nines crouching just under the edge of the short wall. He turned to explain the scent to Gavin and found him already next to him, mirroring the same crouch.

“I smell it too,” Gavin whispered, scanning the street. 

The two of them watched as a group of people, mundanes, mostly, but there were a couple of warlocks mixed in, gathered outside the theatre. Nines searched the faces, noting the warlock marks he could see. 

The door to the theatre opened, and a figure stepped out. Nines nudged Gavin, gesturing to the man. Like all vampires, whatever warm undertones his skin had once possessed were now pale greys. His dark brown, nearly black hair was tousled to appear careless. Every part of his clothing, shirt untucked from ripped, faded jeans, was meant to further the nonchalant act. In reality, this was a carefully constructed suit of armour in its own right. 

Parker walked forward towards the small gathered crowd, and began handing them tightly wrapped packages.

“That _motherfucker_ ,” Nines hissed under his breath. Gavin turned to him, eyebrow raised, but Nines just shook his head, mouthing _‘later’_. Gavin nodded and they both returned to watching the theatre.

The crowd out front disappeared but Parker remained out front. He crossed his arms and leaned against one of the street lamps in front of the building.

“I know you’re around here somewhere, Nines, if you’ve got something to say, just say it,” he said, raising his voice slightly.

Gavin looked back to Nines, who stood up, stepping onto the edge of the wall and then off, landing in a crouch in front of the storefront they’d been watching from. Parker straightened up and whirled to face him.

“There you are, my friend.” He smiled and stretched his arms out, gesturing to the theatre. “Welcome to my little corner of the city.”

“You’re dealing yin fen out of a building that is within clan territory. This is going to be a death sentence, Parker.”

“Like Connor has _ever_ enforced any of his arbitrary rules.”

“They aren’t arbitrary.”

Parker crossed his arms. “Maybe not, but Connor certainly treats them as guidelines.”

Nines glared. “You’ve killed at least 7 mundanes in the past few months. You’re dealing yin fen, addicting mundanes to venom just to drag them to your bleeder den.”

Parker rolled his eyes. “Yes, we can’t all be as _civilized_ as you. Most of us don’t give two shits about what we used to be.” Parker paused and gestured with his hand to Nines. “Then again, your choices certainly made you into the perfect _pet_ for the Nephilim you so despise.”

“I am not a pet.”

“Aren’t you?” Parker tilted his head, a look of amusement crossing his face. “You know, I thought you’d never set foot in another Institute for the rest of your existence. Isn’t that what you told me?”

Nines’ eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t my choice.”

Parker considered this and nodded. “That’s just like Connor, isn’t it. Ignoring the personal _discomforts_ of his charges in favour of keeping his reputation clean of any smudge. It’s what he did to Claire, isn’t it?”

“Claire stepped out of line. You’re fast approaching her sentence,” Nines replied without hesitation.

Parker tsked. “How quickly you turn your back on your friends. I wonder how long it will be until you turn your backs on your new Shadowhunter buddies.” Parker narrowed his eyes at Nines, still smiling. “Or how long it will be until they turn their backs on you. We all know they don’t _really_ care what happens to us.”

“There are outliers in every group.”

Parker laughed humorlessly. “You’re _defending_ them? After what the Clave did to you? After what they did to _me_?”

Nines crossed his own arms. “The acts of a few do not reflect the actions of the whole.”

“You know, your family carved your name into a memorial of the dead. Those without bodies to bury-”

“I know _exactly_ what my parents did when they disowned me,” Nines snarled, digging his fingers into his flesh.

“So why do you _defend_ them?” Parker looked at the watch on his wrist and sighed. “Sadly, I don’t get to hear your answer to that, not tonight.” He walked to the door to the theatre, opening it. Nines ran to him, grabbing his arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Inside, away from the demons my warlocks summoned when they caught sight of your _friends_ . You’re free to join me, but then again, your _venom_ problem would be on full display.” As if on cue, the sound of demonic snarling echoed down the street. 

Nines glared, releasing Parker and running to where Gavin was. Gavin met him on the ground.

“Please tell me that isn’t what I think it is,” Gavin said, drawing his weapons.

“Then I will not tell you,” Nines said, running across the street to alert Tina and Lazzo, who both jumped down.

“You should get out of here, Nines, we can handle it,” Tina said, drawing her own weapon.

Nines shook his head and turned to Gavin. “Don’t suppose you brought an extra Seelie blade?”

Gavin tilted his head, confused. He shrugged and sheathed his dagger, reaching over his shoulder to draw a longsword, tossing it to Nines. Nines caught it mid-air, spinning it with the flight of his wrist.

“You know how to use that thing?” Lazzo asked, and Nines looked at him, grinning.

“I am 267 years old, I’ve been training to fight since before I could walk. _I’ll_ be fine.” 

“Killing demons is a little harder than fencing for fun,” Gavin said and Nines just smirked.

“Who said anything about training for _fun_?” 

The demons made their way into Gavin and Nines’ enhanced field of view a few moments before Tina and Lazzo’s runicly enhanced vision saw them.

There wasn’t a single type of demon. Nines dug back into knowledge he hadn’t reviewed in nearly three centuries, categorizing every demon that emerged and the correct way to kill them. He felt his body sink into the familiar ready stance he’d been trained to maintain, the same stance as the Shadowhunters on either side of him. 

“Hold..... Hold.....” Gavin said, timing the demons’ approach. 

“Now,” Gavin and Nines spoke at the same time, and the four of them moved forward. 

Nines made a conscious effort not to move faster than his companions. They ran into the demons as a wall of whirling blades standing side by side. As Nines fought, he felt his heart clench at the familiarity of it. 

Dodging under the limb of a demon that Lazzo would hit. The scent of ichor and the familiar sound of seraph blades striking demons, disintegrating on contact with soft puffs. He felt a part of him awaken that had been shoved so deep down he didn’t even realize it was still there. 

Nines felt a grin cross his face as he spun, blade in hand, slashing through limbs, ichor staining his hands for the first time in 209 years. He lost count of how many limbs he slashed, how many carcasses he left behind for Tina and Lazzo’s angelic blades to turn to ash.

It was exhilarating, and he realized how much he’d missed this. Every molecule, every atom, of his body hummed with electricity, adrenaline pumping through his undead body. 

He turned, grinning wide, to see a demon’s stinger making its way towards Lazzo. Nines felt as the world shifted, moving in slow motion around him as he moved faster than even his own eyes could truly comprehend. He stretched his hands out, shoving Lazzo out of the way and sending him rolling away on the pavement as the stinger struck Nines’ stomach. He felt it sink into his tight, undead skin, through to the organs he hadn’t needed for more than 200 years.

The poison entered his slow moving bloodstream, burning as it went. He was vaguely aware of Gavin and Tina running towards him. He hissed at the demon, shoving the blade through its skull as he stumbled back, the blade slipping from his fingers as a hand pulled the stinger out of his body.

Nines took another few stumbling steps back, the poison crawling through his veins. Reaching out he grabbed at a lamppost, feeling the metal bend under his tight grasp. He blinked, the world swirling around him, shaking his head to try and clear it.

“Nines! Nines, are you okay?” Gavin’s hands were on either side of Nines’ face, forcing the vampire to look at him.

“Ravener,” Nines gasped, the poison continuing its torturously slow climb through his system. “Need to-” Nines collapsed to the ground as the poison found its way to his legs.

Gavin dropped to the ground in front of the collapsed downworlder, turning to look at Tina. “Call for a portal! And get a warlock to meet us at the Institute!” Tina pulled out her stele, tracing two fire messages in the air as Gavin turned back to Nines.

“Nines, you gotta stay conscious,” he said as he slipped his arms under the downworlder, cradling him in his arms.

“I know that, Reed,” Nines retorted through gritted teeth.

“We’ve got a portal arriving in 5 seconds, a warlock will be waiting in the room he’s using,” Tina said as Gavin approached. Lazzo shoved the sword Gavin had leant Nines into the sheath on his back. 

Gavin tightened his grip on Nines as the portal opened in front of them, Tina and Lazzo each placing a hand on his shoulder as they moved through together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now you've met Parker James! The little chaotic shit he is. I love him so much. So much that I'm gonna give you some facts abt him that I couldn't figure out how to work into the story:
> 
> 1\. Parker was created by Emrys (oswiniarty) years and years ago, before I met them (Parker's also the entire reason I KNOW them, so by extension Parker's the reason I got into DBH)  
>  2\. Parker's a he/him enby.  
>  3\. Parker's chaotic neutral with great ability to swing either chaotic good, or (as we see here) chaotic evil.  
>  4\. Parker's a werewolf fucker. In all iterations, Parker's a werewolf fucker.  
>  5\. Parker's OG/main face claim is Avan Jogia.
> 
> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	6. Shiver to That Broken Beat

The institute ops centre came to a standstill as the portal deposited them on the steps leading down to it. Tina handed her weapons to Lazzo, reaching around Gavin and removing his weapons to hand to Lazzo too. The two of them split in front of Gavin, Tina heading to one of the tables to type up the report, Lazzo heading to the weapons storage to clean their weapons. 

Gavin turned away from the ops centre and began running down the hall to Nines’ room. He shoved the cracked door open with his hip, carrying Nines into the room. A blonde warlock stood in the room, unpacking a small bag on the side table, her warlock mark on display: softly glowing eyes.

“Place him on the bed, please.” She spoke with a carefully maintained calmness.

Gavin did as he was told, lowering Nines onto the bed, stepping back to stay out of her way.

“I may need you to hold him down, if he convulses or fights any of this,” the woman said, and Gavin nodded and took a seat on the edge of the bed. 

The woman clapped her hands together and wisps of blue magic began swirling around her fingers as she began mixing a few ingredients together, bringing the small cup to Nines’ lips. Nines drank from the cup and the woman started to pull at the remains of Nines’ shirt, trying to get a clear view of the injury. Nines shoved back against her hands, and she nodded to Gavin, who grabbed the vampire’s wrists.

“C’mon, Nines, now is  _ not _ the time for old-fashioned modesty,” he chastised, trying to keep his voice steady. 

The woman’s fingers moved just above Nines’ shirt buttons. Pulling the shirt off, she began working her magic. Working carefully, she drew the poison out of Nines’ blood, his body straining against Gavin’s hold, teeth gritted. He watched Nines’ eyes close as he slipped into unconsciousness. 

Gavin turned his head to look at the wound. It was already beginning to heal and close. As the last of the poison left the wound, the warlock signalled for Gavin to release Nines.

“This salve should help with any further discomfort, I’d recommend applying some before he wakes. It's specially formulated for vampires, so don’t get any ideas about using it on yourself,” the woman said as she handed Gavin a small container.

“Thank you....?” Gavin said, fishing for the woman’s name.

“Ada.”

_ Of course he gets the fucking high warlock _ , Gavin thought to himself.

“Thank you, Ada, for coming on such short notice.” The woman nodded in return, quietly packing up her things. 

Gavin turned back to Nines, carefully brushing the hair out of the vampire’s face. He was vaguely aware of the click of Ada closing the door behind her as she left. Gavin’s fingers trailed down Nines’ temple and along his jaw. 

He sighed, standing up and placing the salve on the side table, unzipping his ichor-soaked gear and throwing it in a pile by the door. Then he grabbed one of the spare towels, cleaning the ichor off of his hands and face before returning to Nines’ side. He picked up the small container, opening it and sitting next to Nines, getting ready to apply it as directed, then stopped.

Sprawling across the top of Nines’ left hip was the remains of a parabatai rune. Gavin reached out, gently ghosting his fingers over the top of the scar. 

_ “I was disowned for it.” _

_ “Connor has turned a handful of former Shadowhunters in his time.” _

_ “Yin fen is a personal issue for Connor... Enforced on pain of death, of course.” _

_ “Many chose to become parabatai instead.” _

Gavin heard the words Nines had said over the past few weeks come spiraling back to him. The familiar stance Nines had taken earlier, the familiar forms he had taken while fighting alongside them. 

“You were a Shadowhunter?” Gavin whispered, looking at the vampire passed out in the empty room. It felt as if his own parabatai rune across his shoulder blade was dancing with electricity. Gavin shook his head, shoving the questions forming out of his mind, and turned his attention to the wound. He spread a generous amount of salve on it, pulling the first-aid kit drawer of the side table open. It was completely untouched, like this room had been until Nines had claimed it. 

He focused on the familiar motions of patching someone up after a hunt gone bad. Selecting the right size gauze, cutting the medical tape, and carefully taping the gauze down. Downworlder healing or no, the salve needed to be contained to ensure it wouldn’t rub off.

Gavin unlocked his phone, texting Tina and asking her to bring clothes for both of them. He didn’t want to leave Nines to wake up alone. A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door and Gavin opened it.

“We don’t have a lot of extras, so he’ll have to settle for some tack gear and an old t-shirt,” Tina said, holding out the sets of clothes to Gavin. “Hey, earth to Gav. You okay?” Tina asked, waving her hand in front of Gavin’s face.

“Fine, it's nothing...” Gavin trailed off before pulling Tina into a tight hug. “Thank you for picking me, T.”

Tina returned the hug, her arms wrapping around Gavin. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll explain later,” he said, letting her go.

“Okay...” Tina trailed off curiously, turning to return to the ops centre. Gavin slipped back into the room as she walked back down the hall. 

He set the pile of clothes down on the desk and peeled off his sweat and ichor soaked clothes. Gavin pulled on the hoodie Tina had grabbed for him and the sweatpants she’d probably dug around for. He pulled the chair out from the desk and turned it around, sitting and watching Nines. 

He was a Shadowhunter, from the beginning of the 19th century. He’d frozen the moment the ops centre had come into view. The look he’d given Tina and Val wasn’t one of disgust, it was one of confusion, of  _ envy _ . Gavin looked to the faded parabatai rune. 

Nines had been de-runed and cast out after his parabatai had died. From what glimpses Gavin had gotten from him into the past of the Nephilim, his parabatai had more than likely been his partner. His death would’ve hurt more than a regular parabatai’s death. His name was stripped from him along with his family. De-runed Shadowhunters were discouraged from using their given names, as it would only further the shame of their families. Nines had  _ chosen _ another name. One that seemed like nonsense. 

Gavin looked to his unmoving chest. He’d been Turned over 200 years ago, after he’d been de-runed. He couldn’t have been Turned otherwise; the runes they wore protected them from the effects of vampire blood, an integral part of the Turning process. 

He’d seen the look in Nines’ eyes as the demons had approached, he was analyzing each one of them. He was able to identify the demon who’s poison had entered his system. He’d trained to be a Shadowhunter, and it was taken away from him because he fell in love with the wrong person. 

Gavin was startled from his thoughts when Nines shifted and sat up quickly, his eyes darting around the room until they found and focused on Gavin. 

Gavin stood and carried the clothes over to Nines, offering them to the vampire. “The only spare clothes we had were some tack gear and one of Tina’s old shirts.” Nines reached out and winced, his other hand gently covering the Ravener wound. Gavin moved closer. 

“Let me help,” he said softly. Nines nodded, and Gavin helped guide the shirt over Nines’ head and arms. Nines subconsciously pulled at the hem, not meeting Gavin’s eyes.

“I don’t think the warlock noticed. If she did, I doubt she’ll say anything. I won’t say anything to anyone if you don’t want me to.” Gavin sat on the edge of the bed.

“She knew me before,” Nines’ voice was quiet and drawn back. “You can ask questions. Everyone else who’s seen it has.”

“Just one,” Gavin said, subconsciously rubbing his shoulder, knowing that his fingertips were brushing the top of his own parabatai rune. “Did it hurt, losing him?”

Nines’ eyes met Gavin’s for a moment before turning his head away. “More than you could possibly comprehend,” Nines whispered. Gavin’s heart lurched at how broken his words sounded. How broken he looked.

On instinct he reached out, taking Nines’ hand in his and squeezing it gently. “I’m so sorry, Nines.”

“It was a long time ago,” Nines said, and to Gavin it sounded like he was trying to convince himself that the passage of time meant it didn’t, that it  _ shouldn’t _ still hurt this much.

“There’s no time limit on grief, Nines.” Gavin felt Nines’ hand turn, gently lacing his fingers with Gavin’s. They fell into a comfortable silence, Gavin looking at Nines and Nines staring into space.

“I was born in Alicante, I trained at the academy. We went to Bath together for our travel year and just  _ stayed _ . It was home. It was just the four of us at the Institute for 5 years. Connor was one of the Downworlders that began to live in our city. We weren’t letting anyone hunt them and they felt safe. 

“The Clave sent someone else to assume control and they forced the Downworlders back into hiding. We did our best to help them leave. Connor helped us coordinate them all, and they came here, to Detroit. Four years of fighting and the Clave openly attacked us. We were getting the last group out. We held them off as long as we could....” Nines trailed off, and Gavin gently rubbed the back of his hand. Nines took a deep breath.

“The three of them went down, he died, and they were arrested. I took the blame for them... The Clave would’ve been harder on them if I hadn’t... I told them everything, how they’d killed the only person I’d ever loved, how wrong it was to force people into hiding, I said I’d had a vampire encanto them to force them to help me... They threw me in the Gard for three months before they decided to strip me of my runes, publicly.” Nines looked down at his and Gavin’s hands.

“Connor found me wandering high out of my mind on the outskirts of London. I’d given up, didn’t have anything left. He took me in and he tried to help, but I had nothing. He Turned me to save my life. When I Turned, yin fen didn’t do anything for me anymore. I sulked in London for ten years until Connor summoned me here. Gave me a purpose again.” Nines fell silent, done with his story.

“No wonder you hate Shadowhunters,” Gavin said, squeezing Nines’ hand. “I’m so sorry, Nines.”

“I don’t hate Shadowhunters, I miss being one,” Nines said, looking Gavin in his eyes. “You’re lucky, you were raised away from it all, but my whole childhood was spent training, studying to protect the world from demons. My parents and almost everyone I knew were all convinced that extended to all demon blooded creatures, so to  _ become _ one...” Nines shook his head. 

“I had to relearn  _ everything _ . When I’m hurt my first instinct,  _ still _ , is to reach for a stele, and then I remember the runes I spent hours memorizing and practicing to perfection will destroy me. The symbols of protection will kill me. The blades I spent my whole life handling no longer light up under my fingers, the adamas burns my skin to even touch.”

“You said Connor had turned some other former Shadowhunters, were they any help?” Gavin asked, and Nines looked away again.

“Until 20 years ago, it was  _ expected _ that a Turned Shadowhunter, werewolf or vampire, would kill themself rather than continue life as a Downworlder. Those that Connor turned before me, they didn’t survive long enough for me to meet them.” Nines took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “My brother visited Detroit once. He became Consul and was invited to tour the first _D_ _ ownworlder friendly _ Institute. Part of that was meeting the various leaders of the Downworld in the city. Connor and I both attended. The look of disgust on his face... It's one of many things I will never forget.”

Gavin reached up his free hand, gently resting it on Nines’ cheek. “You are not disgusting, Nines. You lived through a period of Clave history that has been so heavily altered in our records no one knows what happened.”

“You know what makes it all worse?” Nines asked, raising his hand to hold Gavin’s hand against his cheek. “The only reason I knew this was still an Institute was your brother’s look of contempt. That was what grounded me back to reality. That expression coming from someone in gear and runes, it was the only thing that made  _ sense _ .”

“I guess people being assholes is a constant, isn’t it?” Gavin asked, and Nines smiled slightly.

“It certainly seems to be,” Nines replied with a tinge of humour.

Gavin ran his thumb across Nines’ cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I just got stabbed with a Ravener’s stinger,” Nines joked softly. “It's worse than I remember.”

“It's never a fun time. The warlock mentioned your slower blood probably saved your life, but it probably made it more painful.”

“Don’t tell Connor. He’ll claim to have saved my life  _ again _ ,” Nines said with a smile. “200 years on and you’d think he’d have gotten over it.”

Gavin laughed, tsking sarcastically, “It's almost like immortals love lording shit over people for eternity.”

“Seelies too?”

“Have you ever had a conversation with any of the Fair Folk for more than 2 minutes? Name dropping like crazy. Especially in the higher courts.” 

Nines moved the hand from Gavin’s on his cheek to reach out and find the slight points of Gavin’s ears hidden in his  _ impossibly _ soft hair. “Why do you hide them?”

Gavin looked down. “I didn’t used to. When I left the court with my father, he told me to hide them, said it would make me more  _ normal _ .”

Nines used his hand to comb Gavin’s hair up, exposing his ears. “Perfectly normal to me.” 

That was a  _ complete _ lie. Nothing about Gavin Reed was  _ normal _ . Everything about this man was  _ extraordinary _ and  _ wonderful _ . 

He watched a gentle flush cross Gavin’s face, the tips of his ears taking on the same soft rosy colour as his cheeks. Nines dropped Gavin’s hair and cupped his cheek, feeling the dulled warmth radiating from the nephilim’s skin. He continued sliding his hand down Gavin’s face, tilting his head up gently with his thumb and finger resting on his chin.

Nines spoke softly, the British accent he’d fought to change slipping back into place. “I would very much like to kiss you right now, Reed, would that be acceptable?”

Gavin’s eyes widened, and Nines panicked a moment before he answered, “By the angel,  _ please _ .”

Nines grinned, leaning over and gently pressing his cold lips to Gavin’s warm ones. He felt Gavin untangle their fingers and slip his into Nines’ hair as Nines slipped his free arm around Gavin’s waist, pulling him closer. 

Gavin broke off the kiss, taking a deep breath as he rested his forehead against Nines’. “One of us needs to breathe.”

Nines smiled. “Such a mortal concept,  _ breathing _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw those comments some of y'all were making on the last chapter and Emrys and were just 👀. How does it feel to be right?
> 
> As always if you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	7. Listening to That Angel Choir

Hours after Gavin had returned to his room to _finally_ get some sleep, Nines was still staring at his phone, finger hovering over the call button. He nearly threw his phone across the room when it began vibrating with a call from the person he’d been debating calling for the past 5 hours.

“Connor, impeccable timing as always,” Nines answered, keeping his voice level.

“When _exactly_ were you planning to tell me you were nearly killed?” Worry permeated Connor’s voice.

“I’m _fine,_ Connor.”

“Your fine is _not_ reassuring. What happened?”

“Parker.”

“Parker?” Connor asked. Nines had ceased using the vampire's familial nickname, internally and externally, the moment he smelt the yin fen.

Nines took a deep breath and explained everything that had happened. The stakeout, the dealers, Parker’s show meant to throw Nines off. The conversation that had hit sore points Nines had spent _years_ trying to forget. The demons summoned to take care of them. 

The fight that had made him feel more _alive_ than he had in _centuries_. The poison’s slow movement through his veins. Fighting through the poison to keep Gavin from seeing the long faded parabatai rune, and failing. Waking up with the poison out of his system to see Gavin sitting, waiting for him.

Gavin’s one question, and how everything had just... spilled out. 

“You’re leaving something out, Nines. I can hear it in your voice,” Connor said when Nines stopped, holding back on what had happened after.

Nines scoffed. “I hate that you can read me so well, you know that?” 

“You can read me just as well. Now spill.”

Nines rubbed his face with his hand. “I may have, possibly, kissed Reed.” Nines’ eyes narrowed as Connor’s loud laugh rang out over the phone. “I’m glad my inability to process emotions properly amuses you.”

“Nines, you couldn’t take your eyes off of him in our first meeting a few weeks ago. Granted, I didn’t think it’d only take three weeks, I expected you’d be yearning for _months_ before doing anything. Hell it took us _decades_.”

“Con, he's a _Shadowhunter_ . Being in the Institute is painful enough, seeing everything and knowing I can’t have that _back_ is too much. Let alone developing _feelings_ for another Shadowhunter.” Nines shook his head. “I don’t know if I can survive losing another one.” He was aware of how broken his voice sounded - he didn’t bother holding the facade in place around Connor.

“Nines, you deserve to be happy. Don’t let the fear and pain you’ve been carrying the past two centuries get in the way of that. If Gavin’s what you want, and if he wants you back, go for it. Be _happy,_ Nines,” Connor reassured. Nines could hear the tightness in Connor's voice, and some part of him was _satisfied_ with it.

“Even if I admitted to wanting Reed, which I’m not, I don’t have any idea what I’m doing. I haven’t been in a relationship with anyone in 219 _years_ . I don’t even know how I managed it the _first time_ ! I still don’t know how I managed with _you_.” 

“Nines, don’t panic. And don’t be _weird_ ,” Connor responded. 

Nines blinked in confusion. “What do you mean by _weird_?” 

“Just don’t be _weird_.”

“Real helpful, Con. Super helpful advice. So easy to put into practice,” Nines sighed, laying back on the bed. “He’s just... He’s _beautiful,_ Connor.”

Connor groaned, Nines could almost _hear_ the moment Connor put his head in his hands. “This, right here. This is why you need friends besides me.” 

“Fine. I’ll call Markus,” Nines replied snarkily.

“Markus Manfred? The Detroit pack alpha?”

“Yes. Markus.”

“When did you become friends with Markus?”

“When you were incapacitated three years ago. Goodbye, Connor.”

And with that Nines ended the call with Connor and called Markus.

“Nines, everything okay?” Markus asked after he picked up.

“Connor won’t listen to me panic over how attractive Gavin Reed is,” Nines stated plainly.

“And you called me... To panic about how attractive Gavin Reed is, why?”

“Connor snarked about how I needed friends besides him to ganic at. I consider you a friend. And he pays my phone bill, so I’m making a point.”

Markus laughed. “Nines, you need more friends. I will, however, listen to you panic about Gavin.”

“Good,” Nines said as he launched into a long tirade. When he’d finished, Markus spoke up again.

“And are you planning on telling him any of this?”

“Of course not!” Nines shouted incredulously.

“Why not?” Markus questioned and Nines sputtered, searching for an answer. “Emotionally stunted Victorian vampire.”

“Excuse you, Georgian/Regency vampire,” Nines corrected.

“Nines, if you want someone’s help with, what would you call it,” there was a beat of silence, then the soft snap of Markus’s fingers, “'wooing' Gavin, talk to North.”

“The Seelie Knight?”

“That’s them. They trained Gavin when he lived in Faerie, it's why they’re the fae representative for the Institute,” Markus explained.

“And you, when are you planning on getting over yourself and talking to Simon?” Nines grinned as Markus sputtered. “Emotionally stunted Gen Z werewolf.”

“I thought this was supposed to be you panicking about Gavin,” Markus said sarcastically.

“I get the feeling Josh stopped listening to you ganic over Simon _years_ ago,” Nines stated. “Lucky for you, we’re approaching the time limit for our conversation to be considered business, so we will have to discuss your thing for Simon later.”

“Remind me again why I agreed to be your friend?” Markus sighed.

“Saved your life. And we’ve both had to listen to Connor take over Downworld meetings.”

“Oh, speaking of business, one of my wolves reported something a little worrying.”

“Worrying how?” Nines asked.

“Worrying as in the vamp you’re trying to catch is gathering Downworld allies. He’s gathered a few lone wolves, and he’s tried recruiting from my pack. I don’t know _what_ he’s planning, but it can’t be good. For us, or for the Nephilim.”

“You’re probably right, I’ll pass it along. And I’ll tell Simon you said hi,” Nines said, hanging up as Markus started to threaten him.

Markus and Nines’ friendship had begun as an uneasy alliance, the same relationship Nines had had with Markus’ predecessor. Over the past few years, however, he’d been able to relax around Markus the same way he was able to relax around Connor, Ada, and Kara. How he hadn’t heard about Simon from Markus was a surprise, although Markus was a rather private person. 

Nines stood up and looked at the spare gear pants that the Shadowhunters had provided to replace his torn up dress pants. He pulled them on, the familiar feeling of the reinforced leather, the equally familiar placement of buckles and holsters up and down the legs. 

He pulled his stele from his destroyed pants pocket. The adamas core was hidden by a red marble exterior, veins of black running the length of it. This stele had always been encased, making it safer for Downworlders to handle. When he’d been de-runed, it had been taken from him, but Connor had found it, given it to him before he’d been Turned, hoping it would force him to remember what he’d had to live for. When he’d Turned, it became the one possession he couldn’t live without. 

Some vampires held on to crucifix necklaces, rosaries, glasses, all things from their past lives they no longer needed, because they were comforting. Feeling the weight of his stele in his hand, running his fingers across the smooth marble, with the runes etched in and filled with silver. He slipped it into his pocket and left the room, searching for his Shadowhunters as his hand remained in his pocket alongside the stele. This was his. And it was the stele he had used when he was 18 to draw the parabatai rune on the only man he’d ever loved.

Until Gavin Reed came along. 

Nines realized with a start that he could see himself loving this man. Loving Gavin Reed. Falling in love with someone for the first time in more than 150 years. He was quickly heading down that road already. The initial subconscious actions, how easily his eyes found Gavin in the crowded ops centre, how the direction of his walk changed the moment he spotted him. How it took him a few moments to realize that Tina, Lazzo and Simon were all standing around the same table with him.

Nines stepped towards the table and pulled his hand from his pocket.

“Glad you’re not dead, Nines,” Tina said genuinely.

“As am I. I received a call from a friend, he has some worrying news pertaining to our situation,” Nines replied.

“You have friends besides Connor?” Tina asked with a smile. Nines smiled in return.

“Markus Manfred. It's a long story. Don’t ask,” Nines held up his hand when Simon opened his mouth to ask something. “He said Parker is attempting to rally downworlders to his faction. He’s recruited some lone wolves, and several of my clan members have not returned after visiting his bleeder den.” 

“We saw for ourselves that he’d recruited some warlocks for his yin fen shit,” Gavin added.

“You should check in with the courts, Gav. See if they’re missing anyone, or siding with Parker for whatever it is he’s planning,” Simon said, and Nines nodded.

“That would be a good idea. I’m afraid this has spread far beyond a few mundanes being killed. Spread to _what,_ I have no idea,” Nines said, looking at Gavin. “Parker is also one of four living beings who know, he did aim the mundane at me.”

“Shit,” Gavin took a deep breath, scanning Nines’ eyes. 

“One of four who know _what_?” Lazzo asked. Nines looked down, breaking eye contact.

“It’s need to know, Laz. If you need to know, Nines’ll tell you,” Gavin covered, looking back down at the table. “I’ll contact North, see if they’ll meet us somewhere. Tina, Lazzo, Simon, see if you can get in contact with Connor and Markus, and the high warlock. See if they’ll provide a list of names of the Downworlders that may be joining Parker.”

Nines looked up at Simon. “By the way, Markus said hi. To you, specifically.”

Simon turned bright red, excusing himself while muttering about getting to work on something. 

“Markus had the same reaction when I said I’d pass along his greetings to Simon,” Nines mused, grinning.

“You did that on purpose?” Tina asked, eyebrow raised. Nines just nodded in response and Tina and Lazzo both threw their heads back, laughing, before excusing themselves to follow after Simon.

Gavin smiled, shaking his head, “You’re a vampire who’s friends with the alpha of the Detroit pack. You couldn’t’ve mentioned that sooner?”

“Its not something either of us talk about. The clan and the pack are still more often than not at each other's throats. But yes, Markus and I have been friends for years. Never mentioned Simon to me, though.”

“Really?”

“Most of the Detroit Downworld knows I tend to avoid Shadowhunters. None of them know why, not even Markus, so I suspect he was merely trying to avoid an uncomfortable conversation,” Nines explained, leaning against the table and crossing his arms. “I gather, given that you didn’t assign me to any of the other Downworld leadership, that you want me to meet North.”

“North’s an acquired taste, but they’re a friend.”

“North’s on the Downworld council, Reed. I’ve met them before. Acquired taste is putting it lightly,” Nines spoke with a smile.

“How many friends in the Downworld do you have?”

Nines met Gavin’s eyes, smiling fondly at the Shadowhunter. “I’m a part of Downworld leadership, I have as many connections in the Downworld as I can possibly have. Connor manages Clave connections, and has his own Downworld friends.”

“Connections, not friends?”

“I don’t have many friends, Reed. I could probably count them on one hand.”

“That sounds like a lonely existence.”

“When one has an eternity, friends come and go with time,” Nines stated. Gavin rolled his eyes and tapped the table, pulling up the clock.

“We’ve got about 15 minutes before sunset. Follow me,” Gavin said, standing up and walking down another hall. 

Nines caught up to Gavin, walking beside him. “Where exactly are we going?”

“Fae communicate through birds, bugs, bees, et cetera. Fire messages won’t make it into Faerie, if that's where North is.”

“That's why _you’re_ contacting them, and not the Institute.”

Gavin nodded. “I learned how to communicate through nature before I learned to talk.” 

They reached a set of glass doors, and Nines stopped just shy of them, sunlight still leaking through the glass of the greenhouse beyond. Gavin stopped with him, leaning against the wall.

“Do you miss the sun?” Gavin asked. 

“More than food. Fledglings are always lamenting the loss of food, but Georgian food fucking _sucked_. The sun, though...” Nines looked longingly through the doors. “I forget what it feels like. I’d give anything to walk in the sun again.”

Gavin reached out, taking Nines’ hand in his, Nines weaving his fingers with Gavin’s and raised his hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to Gavin’s hand. 

“Gavin, it has been almost _two centuries_ since I’ve developed feelings for someone. I don’t know what I’m doing here,” Nines spoke softly, looking at him.

“You’re doing pretty fucking good already,” Gavin reassured.

“Yes, but everything I ever learned about pursuing someone is centuries out of date. My instinct right now is to call someone else down this hallway, keep you from ruining your reputation.”

“Victorians really were that uptight huh?”

Nines smiled fondly at Gavin, shaking his head, “Correction. Georgian/Regency. And yes, if we were in my time we wouldn’t be alone. All of this,” he gestured between the two of them, “would’ve been supervised by a chaperone. That's if either of us were allowed this. 95% of Shadowhunter marriages in my time were arranged. Mundanes were allowed their ideals of love. We weren’t.”

“Did you ever get married?”

“I was supposed to. My parabatai and I were both betrothed to another parabatai pair, he got married, I didn’t get that far before...” Nines trailed off. Gavin stepped forward, wrapping his free arm around Nines. He felt Nines bury his face in Gavin’s neck.

This hallway was so out of the way and private. It was Gavin’s favourite place in the whole Institute. This entrance to the greenhouse had a small atrium that sat separate from the greenhouse, one where animals from outside frequently managed to get into. 

As the sun began to disappear from the sky, Gavin pulled back from Nines, fishing around in his pocket for the small elastics he carried with him. He quickly began to braid the hair by his ears up and back, exposing their pointed tips. Once the braids were tied off, he pulled his stele out, deactivating one of his two glamour runes, this one sitting just under his ear. Gavin watched Nines frown in confusion as his grey eyes shifted, revealing their soft shine. 

“Fae eyes,” Nines murmured in awe, bringing his hands to Gavin’s cheeks and running his thumbs under his eyes. Gavin smiled, slipping his stele back into his pocket.

“Another thing my father had me hide. None of the other part-Seelie Shadowhunters I’ve met have had them. Tina thinks it's because I was raised in Faerie,” he explained.

Nines smiled. “They’re beautiful, Reed.” Gavin wrapped his fingers around Nines’ wrists as he left his hands on Gavin’s cheeks. Nines pulled Gavin closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “ _You’re_ beautiful.”

Gavin felt his cheeks and ear tips flush, and he glared playfully at Nines. “Shut up,” he muttered and Nines’ smile shifted, mirroring Gavin’s playful glare.

“For now, maybe, but only because the sun is finally set.”

Gavin rolled his eyes at Nines and stepped back, pulling the doors open and stepping into the atrium. He felt Nines rest a hand on his back as he scanned around for any small creature. Gavin turned to Nines. 

“I think they can sense you with me. Stay here for a minute?” he asked, and Nines nodded. Gavin took a few steps forward. The moment he was two yards from Nines, a bird landed on his shoulder. A few moments later, a chipmunk was scampering up his leg and Gavin opened his hand for it, who curled up in his palm. Over the next few minutes, more small creatures approached him. 

“Regular Disney prince,” Nines teased. 

Gavin looked over and glared sarcastically. “I know you’re being sarcastic, but I _do_ know what they’re chittering about. Apparently, you smell like death.”

“I _am_ dead. Well, undead. So I’d hope that I don’t smell alive. That would be concerning.”

Gavin shook his head, raising the raven perched on his finger to his eyeline. “Could you find North and tell them to meet me in the park in two hours?” The raven chittered back, and Gavin added, “Tell them it's important. Please.” The raven’s head bobbed and it took off, flying through one of the open windows. 

“You have shining eyes, pointed ears, and you can communicate with animals. You’re a literal Disney Prince,” Nines said while Gavin sent the rest of the creatures about their regular lives, walking towards Nines. 

Gavin’s shit-eating grin crossed his face, wrapping his arms around Nines’ neck as he felt the vampire’s arms wrap around his waist. “Does that make you the knight in shining armour?”

Nines laughed, “If you’d like.” 

Gavin slipped his hands into Nines’ hair, messing it up a little. “You nearly die and you still bother _styling your hair_. You’ve got some strange priorities.”

“My ideal appearance is polished, and in my line of work a polished appearance is an asset.” Nines looked down at his borrowed clothes. “And as nice as it may be to be back in gear, it’s hardly my regular clothing. Not anymore, at least.”

“Speaking of gear,” Gavin said, “I’m not letting you out in the field with just a t-shirt. We’re finding you a tack jacket.” Gavin watched a conflicted look cloud Nines’ eyes. Gavin placed his hands on either side of Nines’ face. “You either wear the tack jacket, or you’re Institute bound while I talk to North.”

“The night of this city has been my world for more than a century, Reed. I’ll be _fine_ ,” Nines argued.

“You didn’t have a siremate with warlocks summoning demons after you for a century.”

“Point of correction, Parker is summoning the demons to occupy _you_. He wants my loyalty.”

Gavin frowned in confusion. “Why does he want you?”

“While Connor is the official head of our clan, for as long as I’ve been here, we’ve been sharing the work, and he’s been trying to pawn the official title off on me for over a century. The whole clan knows that.”

“Why haven’t you?"

“I’m not a leader, Reed. But Parker thinks that if I side with him, more of the clan will follow, and he’s not wrong.”

“What would make you side with him?”

Nines’ gaze hardened. “At this point? Nothing. Even before he carved the runes into one of the bodies, before he began _actively_ dealing yin fen, there was a single digit percentage chance of my siding with him. My loyalty is earned, and Connor has earned enough for several hundred centuries.”

Gavin scanned Nines’ face, wondering out loud, “How would I win your loyalty?”

Nines’ gaze softened, raising a hand to Gavin’s cheek. “You already have. You haven’t told your parabatai my past when I’d expected you to.” He pressed a finger to Gavin’s lips when he opened his mouth to argue. “It has nothing to do with my trust in you, Reed. I know from experience that keeping things from your parabatai is _not_ easy.”

“It's your story to share, you get to choose who hears it,” Gavin stated simply. 

Nines smiled fondly. “That, and the fact that you _mean it_ , that is what earned my loyalty.” Gavin smiled and pulled Nines closer, kissing him gently. 

When Gavin pulled back he caught sight of the moon rising over the Detroit skyline. “We should find you a tack jacket and get going. North’ll get mad if we’re late.” Nines grumbled, still protesting the tack jacket. “The jacket’s non-negotiable, Nines. Even if Parker doesn’t want to kill you, he evidently wants to kill my team. So, jacket is not optional.” Gavin crossed his arms. “You’re welcome to stay back with Simon and Chris if you’d like.”

“Fine,” Nines grumbled. Gavin pulled Nines behind him as he walked to his own room. 

Stepping inside, he pulled the curtains aside, revealing the wall of Seelie blades. “Take your pick, Nines,” he said, before heading to the closet. Gavin pulled out tack gear for himself before digging around to find another tack jacket. He pulled out the new one he’d been issued a few months ago, the one he absolutely _refused_ to use until his other jackets were busted beyond repair.

“Catch,” he said as he tossed the jacket at Nines, who caught it with a hint of super speed and a glare. Gavin grinned and pulled the tack pants on over his sweats before pulling on the jacket, zipping it up.

“You know, for all your diversity, there has been very little change in tack gear in 200 years. The weak spots are still the same weak spots,” Nines said, holding the jacket out in front of him, a set of matching swortswords sitting in the sheaths of the tack pants. 

“You’ve gotta put it _on_ for it to count, Nines,” Gavin teased, pulling his throwing knives off the wall and attaching them to his belt before pulling down his sword and dagger, sheathing them as well.

“Why do you have all of this if you only ever tack those?”

“North keeps giving me weapons. I can’t exactly say _no_ to them.” When Nines raised a confused eyebrow, Gavin added, “They pout. Makes me feel like a shitty person.” 

Nines laughed, pulling on the tack jacket and zipping it up in one, fluid, practiced motion that Gavin was intimately familiar with. Gavin watched as Nines’ posture changed; he was _relaxed_. He looked like a Shadowhunter, and Gavin was willing to bet he felt like one too.

“Walking or portaling?” Nines asked, leaning on the door. Gavin saw the tip of a crafted stele poking out of his pocket, the adamas tip dull and lightless.

“Walking, it’s not too far,” Gavin replied, opening a desk drawer and pulling out a small rectangular box made of adamas, the communication rune engraved on the box’s lid, which he flipped open. Inside were several small communication devices in the shape of rings, all linked into the Institute’s network. 

“Put this in, it’ll key you into the rest of our conversations,” Gavin said, holding it out to Nines, who hesitated. “There’s no adamas, just warlock magic and good ol’ technology. The ring is just so we can still hear everything around us,” Gavin explained as Nines took the comm and slipped it into his ear.

“-ust saying that if there’s something Markus _wants_ to say to me, he can say it himself. I’m not playing a guessing game here. I’m not 17,” Simon’s exhausted voice echoed in Gavin’s ear as he activated his comm.

“We giving Simon shit about Markus?” Gavin asked.

“No, we aren’t. Simon’s rambling instead of calling Markus,” Lazzo said, exasperated. “You take ‘useless gay’ to a whole new level, Si.”

“I second that statement,” Nines spoke up, grinning. “And I’ve known you for less than a month.”

“The useless gay radiates off of him,” Tina teased as Simon went quiet.

“Simon, if you want Markus to actually say anything to you, you should give him the chance to, _by calling him_.” Gavin rolled his eyes. “Like I assigned you to do.”

Gavin watched Nines slip his phone out of his pocket and send a text to someone. Less than ten seconds later, Simon’s panicked voice came over the comm.

“Oh my god, he’s _calling me_ , **_Markus Manfred is calling me_ **.”

“Pick up!” Several voices spoke at the same time, not all of them familiar. Gavin reached up and tapped the ring twice, deactivating the microphone while still hearing Simon’s panicked voice.

“Double tap to turn the mic on or off,” Gavin said, watching Nines tap the mic off. “What did you text Markus?”

Nines grinned and held out his phone for Gavin to see.

**MM**

You 

The Nephilim want to talk to you, Simon’s been assigned to you

You should call him

MM 

Nines

Why

Are

You

Meddling

Again

You 

I am not meddling, I am conveying facts

And a personal opinion

Now call him

MM 

........... fine

Gavin laughed, opening the door and walking into the hallway. “So you’re now involved in the Simon/Markus shit show?”

“Connor hung up on me when I wanted to ramble, so I called Markus. I’m invested now.”

“What do you have to ramble about after 200 years?”

“I’ve rambled in modern English to Connor about the evolution of the English language. Also rambled in several other languages....” He shrugged.

“How many languages do you know?”

“Fluently? Including dialects?”

“Uh, sure?”

“65. Not including Latin or Hellenic Athenian Ancient Greek.”

“And how many of those are dialects?”

Nines shrugged again. “I know both Parisian and Quebecois French. Most of the 65 are European languages, although I did serve as a translator to several Indeginous groups near the beginning of my clan involvement. I’m very out of practice with those, but there were many individual dialects there.”

Gavin stared at Nines in awe. “You’re incredible.”

Nines smiled softly, but shrugged it off. “You’d be amazed how many of the Night Children are multilingual. We don’t _need_ sleep, although we can sleep. I’ve devoted most of my excess time to developing myself, my accent, and learning in general.”

“Your accent?” Gavin questioned as they walked out of the Institute.

“I make a conscious effort to match the current accent, it helps me blend in. And given that _any_ PR the clan needs to do gets shunted to me, it's crucial to not sound like a Georgian Englishman who was raised in central Europe,” Nines answered, falling into step next to Gavin. “I wonder how my childhood home has changed in the centuries since we last saw each other. What is Alicante like now?” 

Gavin shrugged. “I’ve never been.”

Nines stopped in his tracks and turned to Gavin. “What do you mean you’ve _never been_?”

Gavin stopped a few steps in front of Nines, crossing his arms. “My father left me here when he went. I’ve never seen reason to go, there haven’t been any major Clave meetings since the end of the Mortal War. I wasn’t old enough to attend when they placed sanctions on the Seelies, and because of my blood, I wasn’t allowed to attend the meeting that subsequently lifted the sanctions.”

“That is an _absolute travesty_ . Alicante is _beautiful_ , Reed. You _must_ see it at least once. It’s the home of our people, the same way Faerie is the home of the Seelie court.” Gavin smiled as Nines’ accent shifted, from the Detroit-native to a frenzied upper-class English accent. 

“Yes, well, I’m not visiting Alicante _tonight_ . And we’re on the verge of being _late_ ,” Gavin said as he grabbed Nines’ hand and pulled him forward. 

Nines rolled his eyes, his original accent getting even thicker as he spoke. “There’s no way it’s been two hours.” He threaded his fingers with Gavin’s, not dropping his hand as Gavin had expected. Not that he was complaining.

“It definitely has. Between the animals, gearing up, the argument about you gearing up, and teasing Simon, it has been two hours. If we’re late, North will pout and/or throw something at me. You too, probably.”

“The way you speak of North describes a _completely_ different person than the North at the Downworld meetings,” Nines said.

“North helped raise me, they trained me. They’re more my sibling than Elijah. _You_ get Seelie Knight North, I get my sibling who happens to be a badass Seelie Knight,” Gavin spoke fondly.

“Would you have stayed in Faerie if you were given the choice?”

“Yes, I would’ve. I’m glad I didn’t get given the choice because I’m meant to be a Shadowhunter, but I know that there was another option available, if my father had given a shit about what I wanted, I probably would still be in Faerie,” Gavin answered without hesitation. “My mother and North were both preparing me to become a Seelie Knight, it was what I wanted to be. I used to try and run away, back to Faerie. That stopped when Tina and her parents came to Detroit.” Nines gently squeezed Gavin’s hand in response.

The two angel-blooded Downworlders continued their walk in a comfortable silence. Gavin turned down a small side street that ended in a small forest park. The leaves were suspended by Seelie magic in their reds and oranges. As Gavin slipped between the trees, green echoed up the trees he passed by.

Nines followed close behind Gavin, who’s grip tightened as Nines stepped into the forest behind him.

“Stay close. There are about a dozen portals to Faerie in this place, and not all of them are _fun_ ,” he said, pointing to a tree. “For example, that one leads to the depths of the Queen’s dungeon. Very cold, very not fun.”

Nines blinked at the seemingly normal tree. Even trying his hardest, he didn’t see a glamour. “How-?” He began, but Gavin cut him off.

“Seelie eyes.”

“So they serve a function besides being absolutely breathtaking.”

“Looking good isn’t a _function_ , Nines.”

“I’d argue to the contrary. Life’s worth nothing without beautiful things. Beauty, therefore, is an essential function in all things.” 

Gavin stopped and turned to face Nines, pulling him forward and kissing him. Nines wrapped his arm around Gavin’s waist, feeling his lips turn up into a slight smile before the Shadowhunter drew back again.

Nines quirked an eyebrow in a silent question. Gavin rolled his eyes, turning back to the invisible path he was following. “You are depriving the world of your natural accent. Namely, depriving _me_.”

Nines laughed softly and Gavin responded by tugging him forward harder. If he didn’t have the speed of an immortal and the reflexes of a Shadowhunter, he probably would’ve tripped. Lucky for Nines, though, he did. He caught himself without so much as a stutter to his step, earning him a playfully annoyed look.

Eventually, they reached the end of the path, a small clearing with Seelie furniture sitting in the middle. Gavin dropped Nines’ hand and made his way to one of the three chairs around the circular table. They looked to be made of some sort of crystal stone, all one piece with intricately carved designs. Gavin gestured for Nines to take one of the other two seats as he sat in his own. 

“Feasgar math, mo geugan,” _(Good evening my branch/twig)_ Gavin heard North’s familiar voice as they stepped out of the treeline. He stood and met them halfway, wrapping his arms around his oldest friend.

“Feasgar math, mo charaid,” _(Good evening my friend)_ he replied, feeling them flick his pointed ears slightly. North released Gavin and turned to Nines.

“Tapadh leibh Nines tapadh leat airson lìbhrigeadh Gavin,” ( _thank you Nines for delivering Gavin)_ North directed at Nines, who smiled politely and inclined his head.

“Gu dearbh,” _(Of course)_ Nines replied, relishing the small look of surprise in Gavin’s eyes. It hadn’t occurred to Nines before now that like most Seelies he had met, and there were quite a few, Gavin’s native Seelie dialect was close enough to Scottish Gaelic that he could, likely, hold conversation in the human tongue, as Nines could with the Seelies.

“Scottish Gaelic is _very_ close to Seelie,” North said, patting Gavin’s shoulder as they took their seat at the table, leaving a small package in front of Gavin’s seat.

Gavin shot a quick look to North, one so fast even Nines’ demonically enhanced senses couldn’t register it long enough to determine what it meant.

“What do the Night Children want with the Institute, and more specifically, what do you two want with me?” North asked, leaning back against their chair.

“Well, we have a bit of a problem with one of Connor’s fledglings,” Gavin began.

“Parker James, correct?” North asked, and Gavin and Nines both nodded. “He’s been making quite a few journeys to the outer court, collected some of our more _potent_ elixirs in exchange for his own yin fen.” 

“We have reason to believe he is gathering Downworlders to his cause. What that cause _is_ remains a mystery, but he’s already recruited some of the wolves, warlocks and, unfortunately, vampires,” Nines spoke, tucking his accent back into its place, using the carefully practiced American one instead. He felt his heart warm slightly at the look of disappointment in Gavin’s eyes.

“The cause is to remove the Nephilim from the city. He wants the city to belong to the Downworld again, like it did in the beginning,” North stated, taking a bite of some sort of Seelie fruit. “He’s been talking to our Lady about it.” They directed this statement to Gavin, who raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“I’ll have to appeal to her not to, won’t I?” He muttered under his breath.

“Yep,” North responded, popping their p.

“Sorry, why do you _specifically_ have to appeal to the Lady?” Nines asked. 

“She’s my mother’s mother,” Gavin said, running a hand through his hair.

“Seelie’s don’t have the same familial structures as mundanes or Nephilim. Reed was always a favourite of hers, regardless,” North said, tossing the fae fruit into the trees where it immediately began decomposing.

“She’s siding with Parker, though?” Gavin clarified.

“Of course she is. She was one of the first to flee Bath for Detroit. Her and the rest of her small court,” Nines said, leaning against the table.

“You fled Bath as well?” North clarified.

“I coordinated the evacuation, on many fronts,” Nines said, keeping his answer vague. 

“That may be useful, actually. She always talked of those responsible for the evacuation as saviours. Seelie life debts are powerful things, you could use that,” North suggested.

Nines raised his eyebrow. “You’re giving advice on how to go against the Lady you swore allegiance to?”

“I swore allegiance to Reed’s mother, along with several other knights. When she was murdered, by Seelie law, our allegiance transferred to Reed and to the search for justice for her,” North replied. 

“I’ll have to set up a meeting with our Lady myself, could you...?” Gavin trailed off in a silent question, and North nodded in answer. “Good. Anything else we should know?”

North nodded. “Parker’s rallying cry. He claims a Shadowhunter killed a wolf in cold blood and nearly killed him.”

Nines leaned back, frowning. “He never shared _that_ part.”

“Shared what?” Gavin and North asked at the same time.

Nines sighed. “Parker knows of my past because I found him roaming the streets covered in wolf blood, and his own. Connor wasn’t answering his phone, so I dealt with it. The next day, when he tried to lead me to the body, it was gone. I assumed the wolf’s healing had saved his life and he’d limped away to lick his wounds. I guess not.”

North nodded and looked to Gavin. “He claims the Shadowhunter took the wolf’s claws, as a trophy.”

“Elijah, you _asshole_ ,” Gavin muttered, his head falling against the tall back of the chair, hands covering his face.

“You’re sure it’s Elijah on that _alone_?” North clarified.

“His detestation for the entire Downworld, he and his _friends_ talk about the trophies they inherited, how they’d collect their own.” Gavin scratched at his ears, as did North. Nines felt his fangs slide out subconsciously, their sharp points digging into his lip.

“Why hasn’t the Clave done anything?” North asked.

“Fowler’s overwhelmed, and Father is good at buying Elijah out of trouble.” Gavin crossed his arms.

“If this is true, Parker never reported it, to me or Connor. We _couldn’t_ report it to the Clave, but he’s smart. He’ll twist it,” Nines said.

“You’re sure he never reported it?” North asked.

“I may not have a perfect memory, but we document _everything_ . I can check, but this isn’t something we’d just _forget_.”

Gavin sighed. “This is a mess. We can’t deal with Elijah without getting Parker’s statement, but we can’t _get_ Parker’s statement while he’s actively antagonizing the Clave.”

Nines sighed. “Time to call in life debts. The high warlock owes me one as well. Most of Detroit’s immortal Downworld does.” 

“You guys need to get back to the Institute, _now_. Elijah’s planning.... Something.” Tina’s voice echoed in their comms.

“We need to go, North. Arrange the meeting as best you can.” Gavin handed them a small scroll and North nodded, rising and disappearing into the trees.

“Portal?” Nines asked.

“Portal rune, it’s a fairly new one,” Gavin said as he pulled out his stele and grabbed Nines’ hand, tracing an unfamiliar shape in the air, a strange portal opening. The two of them stepped through and into the Institute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always if you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	8. Wipe the Dirt Off Your Hands

Gavin and Nines landed on the steps of the ops centre, and Nines froze. On the screen was the face of his family; the stouter smirking figure with the firey red curls of his fiancé, the slight frame with braided brown hair of her lover and parabatai, and the face he'd nearly forgotten in the 217 years since he'd last seen _him,_ in the one portrait they’d ever received, as a thank you from a warlock in Bath. Next to the screen was a smirking Elijah. The entire Institute was in the ops centre. 

Tina and Lazzo were fighting forward, trying to reach Elijah. Simon noticed Gavin and Nines step out of the portal, climbing the stairs to stand next to Nines, close enough that he could feel Simon’s warmth as Gavin’s disappeared from his side.

Gavin weaved through the crowd, reaching the platform at the same time as Tina and Lazzo. 

“I think we deserve to know who we’re working with,  _ brother _ ,” Elijah’s smug voice rang out across the room.

“Oh, really?” Gavin’s voice was deadly quiet, Nines’ ears barely picking it up. “Like how you killed a werewolf and took his claws as a  _ trophy _ when you  _ broke the Accords _ ?” 

“The dog had it coming,” Elijah bit back, smirking. “So does your new  _ friend _ . His  _ real _ name’s-”

Gavin’s fist connected with Elijah’s face, sending him flying back and over the back of the small raised walkway Elijah had turned into a podium. Nines was aware of Tina slipping her stele back into her pocket, and the shining of the strength rune on Gavin’s arm. Lazzo closed the image.

Gavin turned back to the Shadowhunters, speaking loudly, “His name is Nines, he is our honoured guest, and like  _ every single one of us, _ he has things he’d like kept private. Unless we  _ want _ to start talking about the sex lives of everyone in this Institute?” His question was met with embarrassed grumbling. “That’s what I thought. Now get back to your  _ actual jobs _ . We protect humanity, and that  _ includes  _ the Downworld. Or do I need to report anyone besides my brother?” The crowd dispersed and Nines was vaguely aware of another man standing on his other side, protective.

Gavin shook his head at Tina and the three of them walked to where Nines still stood frozen, staring at the now blank screen.

“Nines?” Tina asked gently.

Nines closed his eyes. “I haven’t seen that in... 200 years...” he whispered hoarsely, his natural accent surfacing with the emotions that bubbled to the surface. He felt Gavin’s hand rest on his back, Tina’s hand resting on his shoulder, mirroring Simon’s hand on his other shoulder. 

“You don’t owe anyone an explanation, Nines. Least of all us,” the unfamiliar man spoke from his side. 

“We need to debrief,” Gavin spoke up, giving Nines something to ground to. They had other things to worry about. Nines had to protect his  _ living _ family, not the one that had been dead for 150 years. 

Nines straightened and opened his eyes, looking from concerned face to concerned face. These Nephilim would’ve been out of place in Nines’ Alicante. They seemed out of place in their own Institute, their kindness reading in every action. 

Tina’s wife was behind her, Gavin was slightly behind him, Simon and Lazzo were on one side, and the unfamiliar man with dark skin on the other. They had surrounded him, protecting him from anything anyone even thought of doing or saying. These were the Shadowhunters his family would’ve been proud of.

“Parker’s gathering Downworlders because his boyfriend, a werewolf, was murdered in cold blood by a Shadowhunter. This wasn’t reported to either Connor or I. The Detroit Seelie Lady’s debating joining him,” Nines said, focusing on the facts.

“So’s the high warlock, but she’s waiting to see what you do.”

“Ada’s an old friend. Like many of the elder Downworlders in Detroit, I had a direct hand in getting them here, in ensuring their survival,” Nines said.

“She’s the warlock that healed you?” Gavin asked and Nines nodded.

“Unlike the Lady, Ada and I stopped counting life debts decades ago.”

“Connor’s trying to hold down your clan, but a lot of them are jumping ship. He can’t hold control much longer without straight up challenging Parker,” Tina said.

“Connor hates fighting, he won’t challenge,” Nines said, sighing. “But I may.”

“Nines,  _ no _ .”

“Reed, this is not about me right now. This is about my  _ family _ . Parker will get them all killed. We all know the Clave won’t withdraw from Detroit; they’ll  _ invade _ , and none of the Downworld will make it out unscathed,” Nines spoke, his public accent slipping back into place.

“We don’t have to go there, not yet. We have a meeting with my Lady to arrange, you have a fiachan beatha to use there, Markus’ pack won’t move, and hopefully your friend will stick with you,” Gavin strategized.

“You’re meeting with  _ her _ ?” Tina’s disbelieving voice was answered with a sigh and a nod from Gavin.

“I don’t have much choice. This is our  _ home _ we’re talking about, T.”

“What do you need from us?” The unfamiliar man spoke up.

“Get as many as you can to run interference with Elijah. He’s been hunting Downworlders. Assign yourselves to their patrols, ensure that they don’t do anything,” Gavin said, placing his hand on the man’s shoulder. “And Chris, get your kid out of here. Lazzo, get Sierra and the rest of the kids and send them to Chicago. If Detroit does go full warzone, the kids can’t be here.”

The group dispersed, except for Simon and Gavin, both of them staying firmly rooted on either side of Nines.

“Markus said he and Josh’ll hold the pack back as long as they can, but the fact that it was a  _ wolf _ ...” Simon trailed off.

“I talked to Parker that night. He didn’t say  _ anything _ . I asked Markus if he knew anything about the wolf when Parker came back to the Manor, he said he wasn’t a pack member. Parker chose not to report this. He didn’t give the Clave a chance,” Nines said, running a hand through his hair. “This is my fault.”

“How the hell did you make  _ that _ logic leap?” Gavin asked, his hand still on Nines’ back.

“I told him about my past life. It might’ve shifted his view, made him choose not to report.”

Simon spoke up. “Nines, even if that were the case, he should’ve told you and Connor what happened, allow you to be on guard more. You  _ invited us _ into your clan’s home. That wouldn’t have happened if he’d told you.”

Nines’ expression hardened. “He left the clan exposed. Put them in danger.”

“Either way, we take this one step at a time. You reach out to Ada, let her know where you’re standing, and I’ll...” Gavin trailed off and sighed. “I’ll prepare for  _ court _ .” He turned to Simon. “Stay with Nines?”

“Of course,” Simon said, before turning to Nines, “If you don’t mind my company, that is.”

“Not at all, but we aren’t staying here, we’ll have to go to Ada.” 

Gavin left the two of them to their mission, confident in Simon’s ability to both protect Nines and help him. Simon, for all his chilling facts about dead bodies, was a calming presence. He’d keep Nines safe.

Gavin walked into the small garden, placing his hand on the trunk of one of the trees inside. He’d brought this sapling from Faerie, and planted it in secret. It linked back to the network of plants within Faerie, giving Gavin a window to his home.

He felt the connection immediately, the lurching sensation in his stomach just as familiar as the burn of the runes on his skin. The tree was his own personal doorway into his childhood home, now belonging to North instead of his mother. 

Gavin stepped through the threshold of his childhood room, finding what North had promised to leave for him on the bed. The Seelie circlet sat with the rest of the jewelry and the set of fine, enchanted silk clothes. He picked up the note that sat with the circlet.

_ Mo geugan, _

_ Sundown, bring your vampire. _

_ Tuath _

Gavin gathered the clothes and jewelry and stepped back into the Institute garden, carrying them to his room. He set the clothes on the bed before shooting a text to Tina, who appeared in his room.

Wordlessly, she began refining the braids on the sides of his head, weaving the jewel studded rungs alongside his hair. The first time she’d done this she said how viking-like he looked. She’d taken over for her mother, who’d begun teaching her a few weeks after he’d become her friend.

Gavin had only ever worn court clothing in the Institute once, at Tina’s parents’ funeral. They had encouraged him to embrace the Seelie side of him, so he wore it to honour them. Tina had woven the circlet into his hair as she was doing now. Her hands were shaking then, unsteady. Both of them wore white, Gavin’s Seelie clothing covered in butterflies, with them painted on his skin next to the mourning runes.

Tina helped him attach the various ear cuffs, meant to highlight the point to his ears, proving he was Seelie, just as the runes on his skin proved he was Nephilim.

The silk tunic was a deep green, trimmed in shining black cord, with matching tight pants. Tina wrapped the silver cloak over his shoulders, pinning it closed with the decorative pin, the size of her palm. His mother’s crest, made of silver and emeralds. Gavin raised the hood over his head, feeling the weight of the leaf-shaped jewels sewn onto the edge.

Tina left once he was dressed, and he slipped a single Seelie dagger into the decorative silver-laced sheath, slipping his stele into the hidden pocket of his cloak. He caught sight of himself in the mirror. The silver circlet’s emerald jewel hung perfectly in the centre of his forehead, his ears adorned with small jewel cuffs and delicate chains were uncovered in his silver hood. He removed another layer of glamour, the winding silver leaves of the single Seelie tattoo curled from behind his ears, up to his temples, perfectly symmetrical. A permanent circlet, wrapped around the back of his head under his hair.

He looked the part of a Seelie prince. He sat in the window, focusing on the energy he felt outside the Institute. Feeling the move of the ley lines through Detroit, seeing their intersections glow in his mind. He gently pulled at one, the closest line. It ran under his window, and as he gently coaxed it, he felt its energy run through him. 

This was a new form of Seelie magic, only a few decades old, one that forced their half-faerie children to follow their truthful ways until they released themselves. He’d asked Tina to explain to Nines while he felt the ley line’s power course through him.

He stood as the door opened and closed behind him, turning to face Nines.

“My god,” he said, his accent slipping back. “You look-”

“Like a freakshow, I know,” Gavin interrupted, walking to the door. “Let's just get this over with and I can go back to being able to lie.”

Nines furrowed his brow, pulling Gavin to him gently. “That isn’t what I was going to say  _ at all _ . You’re breathtaking, Reed.” 

Gavin frowned, blinking, confused. “You-”

Nines cupped Gavin’s cheek, interrupting him. “You’re incredibly attractive, Reed. Right now? You’re absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.”

Gavin flushed and Nines pressed gentle kisses to his cheek, before pressing his lips to Gavin’s. His eyes fluttered closed, and Gavin wound his arms around Nines’ neck. Everything was moving fast, he’d been sure he’d despise this Downworlder not even three weeks ago, and here he was, kissing him while wearing his court clothes. 

This man had become a weak spot Gavin had never even dared to dream of having someday.

“We should get going, we’re expected at sundown,” Gavin said as they broke apart.

“Lead the way,” Nines said, holding the door open for Gavin who, rolling his eyes, entered the hallway and slipped out one of the back exits, avoiding any contact with Elijah or his friends. 

Once beyond the wards of the Institute, the pendant sitting around his neck began to float in the air. Gavin slightly lifted the handle of the dagger and ran his finger tip against the blade, gently nicking the skin. Bringing the small cut to the pendant, he reached out and placed his hand on Nines’ shoulder. The moment his blood touched the pendant, the ground seemed to disappear under their feet, as they seemed to fall through the worlds to Faerie.

Gavin landed on his feet and chuckled as Nines landed on his back next to him. “You okay?”

Nines glared up at him, playfully annoyed. “You could’ve warned me.”

Gavin offered a hand to Nines, who took it. “I could’ve, but where would be the fun in that?” Gavin grinned mischievously, the silver tattoos that framed his face glinting in the strange natural light of this plane.

Nines’ skin looked paler in this strange, unnatural natural sunlight. It wasn’t  _ warm _ . It wasn’t real sunlight, it was some sort of Seelie magic. Looking around where they landed, he realized they were standing on some sort of ivy-covered cobblestone. Small golden droplets of light hung from the huge, arching branches of the trees on either side of the path. Gavin adjusted his hood and smoothed out the soft silk cloth. 

“You should probably take your shoes off, leave them here,” he said to Nines, who obliged and soon stood on the surprisingly soft ivy, barefoot. He slipped his hand into Gavin’s, feeling his fingers curl around his palm.

Gavin began walking down the path, knowing which direction he was going, though both ends of the path looked the same to Nines. Soon, however, Seelie Knights appeared on either side of the path, walking alongside the two of them. Nines realized that the emblem Gavin wore as a clasp was engraved in the leather armour of these Seelies. 

_ “Our allegiance transferred to Reed,” _ Nines recalled North’s words, realizing that this small honour guard was protecting the person they’d sworn to protect. He felt Gavin gently squeeze his hand as they approached a set of gates, woven branches holding the crystal gates aloft. The emblem on the door was familiar, to both of them. They had reached the Lady’s court.

Gavin’s pace didn’t slow, and as he approached the gates, they opened to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mini-glossary:   
> fiachan beatha: Life debt  
> Tuath is just North (it's common for Seelies to have multiple names, including translations)
> 
> This one's a shorter chapter but I promise there'll only be a couple days till the next one.
> 
> As always if you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	9. Dark Into the Heat

The interior of the small court had remained unchanged in the 200 years since Nines last set foot in it. In the centre was a large oval table. A grand chair sat empty at one end, and the smaller, plainer chairs along the sides were intermittently filled. To one side was a large Seelie fire, surrounded by cushioned benches, fur rugs from long-dead creatures on the ground. Behind the table was a small dias, and here was a small change. There were now three chairs on it, small thrones. The one on the right was draped in a fabric adorned with butterflies, embroidered and preserved, real ones. The one on the left was made of silver, with two large emeralds sitting in the arms, the emerald coloured cushions completing the simple throne. The central one, tall and made of crystal, was occupied.

The Lady of Detroit had once been the Lady of Bath, and she remained as unchanged as Nines had. Her hair fell in dark curls behind her shoulders, held back by a golden version of the circlet that sat on Gavin’s head. Her olive skin caught the light in her home in a way that made it appear to be glowing. 

The Seelie lady stood, and Nines inclined his head in a small bow and Gavin removed his hood as she approached.

“Mo phrionnsa gaolach, Reed,” _(my dear prince)_ she said, extending her arms to Gavin, who stepped into her embrace. She released her grandson and turned to Nines and placed a cold hand on his cheek. “Mo ghaisgeach, Richard Ashgrove, I hadn’t expected to see you again, not after all these years.” _(My hero)_

“Ban-diùc, thank you for meeting with us,” Nines said, pointedly ignoring the look Gavin was giving him.

“Of course. What kind of example would I be setting if I refused to meet my heir and the man who saved mine and my court’s lives?” She placed one hand over Nines’ faded parabatai rune and gently ran her fingers down his neck where runes had once peeked out from his gear. “At great personal cost, as well.”

“And I stand by what I believed then,” Nines said, consciously sliding his fangs forward. “Although now it is a means of survival.”

The Lady nodded, clasping her hands in front of herself. “Then I assume you are here about the charming young vampire who visited my court the other day.”

“We are, my Lady,” Gavin answered. “We’re here to appeal to you, to not join him.”

“Both of you?” The Lady raised her eyebrow in Nines’ direction. “You more than most have seen the cruelty of the Nephilim, Mr. Ashgrove. Why come to their defense?”

“Because I have seen first hand how different the Nephilim of the Detroit Institute are. How hard they work to help protect the Downworld,” Nines answered.

“With one exception,” Gavin added on. “This visit is twofold, my Lady. My half blood-brother, we believe, has begun to hunt Downworlders for their demonic aspects.” The court around them gasped, and the Seelie Knights stood straighter.

“And what, mo phrionnsa gaolach, is the Institute planning to do about it?” The Seelie Lady asked.

Gavin met her steely gaze, unwavering. “Without a report, without testimony, we are bound to the laws of the Clave, and the Accords. We cannot act on rumour and suspicion, no matter how founded they are.”

“Parker was once a member of my clan. I serve in leadership and he failed to report it, made a  _ point _ not to. He took away the only proof we could have of Elijah Kamski’s actions,” Nines added, backing up Gavin.

The Seelie Lady’s gaze hardened further. “So you are warning me, while asking me to not move forward with our own justice, with no way to move forward through the  _ proper _ channels?”

“I am not asking. I recognize many faces in your court, more than I do not. I am willing to invoke all the fiachan na beatha owed,” the shockwave moved through the court, including Gavin. “And, as is your custom, any of those who have passed on their descendants would also be called upon to fulfil the debts owed me.”

“You would call on the hundreds of debts owed you, to protect the very people who cast you out?”

Nines shook his head. “I am calling on the hundreds of debts owed me to protect you. The Clave would turn Detroit into a warzone, and we would  _ all _ be killed, and those allies in the Institute, including your heir, would be unable to come to your aid.”

“So you would incur the debts to protect us? Do you believe that I am  _ unable _ to protect my people?” The Lady’s voice took on an accusatory tone.

“With all due respect, my Lady, you’ve said it yourself. I know the Nephilim, just as I know the Downworld. I am fulfilling my role as a mediator to allow for the greatest chance of survival for both sides.”

“You are quite the enigma, Richard Ashgrove,” the Lady said before turning to her grandson. “And you, mo phrionnsa gaolach, do you believe the Institute deserves to endure in Detroit?”

Gavin shook his head. “We have failed the Downworld more times than we have aided it. But we cannot fix what no longer exists.”

“And you believe the Institute should be given another chance.”

“I do, my Lady.” Gavin met his grandmother’s gaze. “I would stake my life on it.”

The Lady of Detroit nodded, and extended a hand to her grandson, gently combing her fingers through his hair. “Very well,” she said, gesturing to one of her Knights. “Inform Mr. James we will  _ not _ be joining him.” She turned back to Gavin and Nines. “But we will not be joining the Nephilim either, should it come to a fight.” She met the eyes of Gavin’s Seelie guards. “Your Knights, mo phrionnsa gaolach, may do as they please, I hold no dominion over their actions. But their will is not mine.”

“Wise and fair decision, my Lady,” Gavin said, and Nines nodded in agreement. The Lady turned to Nines, tracing her finger over the place on his neck a rune once sat.

“I would be careful, Richard. There are rumours that Mr. James has something the Clave has always wanted. He may force your new  _ friends _ out of the city either way,” she paused and pulled her hand back. “He may force Connor out.”

“I’d like to see him try,” Nines answered, with a wry smile.

The Lady gave an amused smile. “As would I.” She turned and returned to her throne, sitting down. “You may be trapped in Faerie for a little while longer, Mr. Ashgrove, several days have passed since you arrived and it’s currently mid-day. We wouldn’t want you going up in smoke.”

Nines bowed his head, and answered back, “Thank you for seeing us, my Lady.” Gavin nodded along with Nines, and the two of them turned and left the court.

Gavin moved to pull the hood over his head again when the court’s doors closed behind them, but Nines reached over and stopped him. Gavin gave him a confused look and Nines just smiled slightly in response. Gavin rolled his eyes and wrapped his hand around Nines’, guiding him along the path.

“Your parents named you  _ Dick _ ?” Gavin asked when they reached their tree portal and the knights had backed away to secure the area without invading their privacy.

Nines shook his head, smiling, and sat on the ground. “They named me  _ Richard, _ not Dick. And either way, I haven’t used that name in over a century.”

Gavin sat down next to Nines, who wrapped an arm around the royally-adorned Shadowhunter. “That’s still a really cruel name to give a kid.  _ Richard _ .”

“Excuse you, I was named after my great grandfather, it’s an honourable name,” Nines said, smiling.

“Still, Ashgrove, huh?”

“Yep. I don’t appear in any family lineage records, official or otherwise. My family removed me from history. It appears as though they only had two children, my sister and my brother.”

“Wait, your brother was the first Consul Ashgrove, wasn’t he?”

“He was,” Nines sighed. “My parents forced all their heavy expectations onto him when I was de-runed, and added the weight of making up for the disgrace I’d brought to our family name.”

Gavin shifted, pulling Nines closer. Nines leaned his head against Gavin’s shoulder and sighed again. “It's been nearly 200 years since anyone called me by that name,” he said softly.

“Do you want to use it?”

“Not in the slightest,” he answered without hesitation. “I’ve chosen my name, and it’s Nines.”

“Okay, Nines,” Gavin paused, looking at Nines. “Can I ask why you picked it?”

Nines traced his parabatai scar. “He died on September 9th, 1819.”

“You picked it to remember him?”

“I picked it because that was the day I started down the path that would turn me into a vampire. I was turned September 9th, 1821, so if anyone asks, I say that's why,” Nines paused before nodding. “But, yes. I picked it because of him.”

Gavin closed his eyes, concentrating and sighing. “Faerie’s slowed again. It's going to be a while before sundown in our world. Like, a few days in Faerie.” He opened his eyes and looked at Nines. 

“Got any fae hidey-holes here to pass time in?” Nines asked and Gavin smiled.

“I know you meant that as a joke, but actually, yes. And it’ll connect back to the Institute directly.” He stood and pulled Nines up with him, his knights forming up around them as they stepped onto the main path. 

Gavin walked down the familiar path to his childhood home. It sat at the other end of the path, opposite to his grandmother’s court. The grand doors, made of green crystal with veins of silver, were locked. He reached out his hand and pressed it against the seam of the two doors, watching as a soft glow radiated from his palm through the rest of the crystal doors. They swung open slowly, and Gavin walked into the home he’d avoided for many years. 

He felt his eyes drawn to the centre of the foyer, the pristine white blossoms that covered the floor unstained by his mother’s blood. He felt North place their hand on his shoulder, giving a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Gavin shook his head, clearing the image of his mother’s sprawled corpse from his mind. The foyer had fallen into wildness; those who had once been a part of his mother’s smaller court - which had once met there - were absorbed into the Lady’s, or the Queen’s. 

Gavin gently pushed aside some ivy that had grown to cover the stairs and pulled Nines along behind him, walking into the room he’d grown up in. Slipping out of the cloak, he walked towards his wardrobe and hung the garment up. 

“Can you give me a hand, Nines?” he asked, struggling to remove the circlet from his hair. Nines pressed a gentle kiss to Gavin’s head before his fingers began extricating the circlet from the braids Tina had crafted. He felt the vampire’s fingers dance across his head as he worked as gently as possible. Gavin reached up and began removing the jewelry from his ears, placing them in the open box on top of the dresser. 

“Fucking hate being stuck here,” Gavin grumbled as he set the circlet down.

“You hate it at the Institute, you hate it here, do you like being  _ anywhere _ ?” Nines asked, not bothering to mask his natural accent around the Shadowhunter anymore.

“I’m not fully a Shadowhunter, I wasn’t raised with their traditions. I didn’t receive my warding rune until I was 10, I dealt with the nightmares that come with not having it. I also never swore my oaths like a proper Seelie heir, yet I’m her only option, if I don’t die before her.” He shrugged as he sat on the outrageously plush settee. “I’m not fully at home in either place, not anymore, at least.”

“I get what you mean,” he said, letting Gavin pull him next to him. He smiled softly as Gavin leaned into his open arms. 

“I figured you would,” Gavin muttered as he laid his head on Nine’s chest. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Mhm,” Nines replied, as he buried his face in Gavin’s hair.

“Why do you have a stele?”

Nines hummed softly. “So you noticed, huh?”

“Don’t think anyone else has, don’t think any of them are paying as close attention.”

“Close attention to me?” Nines clarified, laughing softly when Gavin’s ears flushed. 

Gavin slapped Nines’ chest playfully. “Don’t laugh at me.”

Nines grabbed Gavin’s hand, pressing a kiss to his fingers. “I’m not laughing at you, my dear.”

Gavin’s cheeks and ears flushed brighter. “You’re avoiding the question, is what you’re doing.”

“I’m admiring my partner’s flushed skin. You know it makes your scent more intense, right?”

“You know commenting on the scent of someone’s blood is kinda creepy, right?” Gavin parroted, with a tinge of humour. “Now, answer my question. Please?”

Nines shook his head gently, smiling. “You’re persistent,” he spoke fondly, though. He sighed and shifted, sliding the stele from his pocket and placing it in Gavin’s hand. “There are four - three that match this one. Sarah made them for the four of us, she and Elizabeth were going to join the Iron Sisters before they met us. So two are with the Iron Sisters, they joined the Sisters after my trial.”

“And the fourth?” 

Nines looked away from Gavin’s eyes, running his fingers along the stele. “He gave it to a Downworlder child, told her to hold onto it for him.” Gavin gently brushed his thumb over Nines’ cheek, and Nines realized he was wiping away a tear that had fallen from his eye. 

Nines took a deep breath, breathing in Gavin’s earthy scent, moss and warmth, with the familiar soft metallic scent of mundane blood paired with something completely different, completely new, and unable to describe. Nephilim blood, fae blood, and all of it just smelt like Gavin. 

“You know why that portrait made me freeze? It wasn’t me, it was the other three. I haven’t seen that portrait in centuries, haven’t seen their faces in 219, and 150 years. I’d forgotten their faces. I forgot them... more than a century ago. I may be immortal and unchanging, but my memory is just as fallible. I don’t have warlock or Seelie magic to freeze moments in time, keep them forever. I have the memory of an old man, I forget things,” he took another shaky breath, grounding himself in Gavin’s scent with his caring touch. “Elizabeth and Sarah, I hadn’t said their names in.... more than 200 years, until just now. I think his name all the time, but I refuse to say it. Unlike everyone else, I’ve always been able to say ‘god’, to touch crucifixes and other holy symbols. But that rune,” he pointed to the angelic rune on the stele. “It still burns me, to this day. I can’t use the nephil-equivilent of 'oh my god', I can barely talk about parabatai without choking on the words.”

“Which replacement for 'oh my god'?” Gavin asked.

“By the-” he gagged, feeling his throat burn and close up as he tried to finish the sentence, one that had once been so easy to say, flowing effortlessly.

“By the angel?”

“That. I’ve never trained myself to, either. Didn’t have a reason to. Barely had a reason to talk to anyone beside Connor for a few decades, and by then no one asked,” Nines explained. The two of them sat in silence before he spoke again. “Do I get to ask a question now?”

“You’ll get either brutal honesty or fae evasion, be warned.”

“But you’re only half Seelie, you can lie,” Nines said, confused.

“A decade or so ago, a warlock realized that part Seelies could channel ley lines into themselves, filling their minds with enough fae magic to force them to obey the same rules as the other fae. Now it's a requirement for us to enter Faerie. Anyways, your question?”

“What is this place?” Gavin shifted, sitting up, and Nines quickly added, “You don’t have to tell me, I’m just curious.”

“No, it's fine. I just,” Gavin sighed, rubbing his hands together. “This is where I grew up, it's got a lot of good in this place, but it's also where my mother was murdered.” Nines sat up quickly, placing his hand on Gavin’s back, feeling him relax slightly under his touch. “It was 20 years ago. I woke up late, which was weird, cause she always woke me up at the same time. I walked out of my room, looking for her, but she wasn’t in her room, or her library. I went to leave to find North to see if they knew where she was but she was in the foyer, her blood pooling on the white flowers. Her skin was ice cold, and her eyes were just.... Empty.” He took a deep breath. “There’s a little known thing that happens when Seelies die. Our tattoos die too. The enchanted ink eats away at the skin, down to the bone, and it marks the bones black, carrying the patterns in death. Hers covered her arms, her head, her neck. They were beautiful when she was alive, but they were terrifying when she died. Her throat was slit open...” Gavin trailed off and Nines pulled him close, Gavin clinging to him.

“Your mother was Miamul,” he said softly, and felt Gavin’s head nod against his chest. Nines stroked Gavin’s hair. “I remember her. She was kind, and warm. Completely different from her mother. She was still a child when we evacuated Bath. She didn’t understand why everyone had to leave. Why she had to leave the friends she’d made. He explained to her that people were trying to hurt her, and that we wanted to keep everyone safe. And she started to cry because she was worried they’d hurt us instead.

“Everyone knew that was a possibility, a very likely possibility, but the way she said it, it was full of honest care, and kindness. She hugged him, so tight he couldn’t breath, and made him promise to find her when everything was safe again. He promised, said all four of us would visit one day. She asked how he could prove it, he gave her his stele. Said that it was the  _ most _ important tool for a Shadowhunter. Said that he’d have to come and get it one day, that he’d get by with a normal one, but that this one was special because it matched the one I have. So he’d have to come back and get it one day, and would she promise to keep it safe for him. She promised wholeheartedly, hugged him again, hugged all of us, and disappeared into Faerie with her mother, clutching his stele tight.

“I came to find her, when I was turned. She was all grown up, but she remembered me. She was the one that explained life debts, she was the last person I told my whole story to before Parker. She asked if I regretted helping, if I would take it back if I could. Of course I wouldn’t, I still wouldn’t. She smiled and opened a small box. She tried to give me his stele, but... I couldn’t take it. I told her to hold onto it, give it to a Shadowhunter who passed through, who needed it. She promised she’d find someone worthy of his legacy.” Nines stopped and smiled wryly, looking at the stele Gavin had placed back in his hands when he’d stood up halfway through Nines’ story. “I guess that means you owe me a life debt, Reed.” Nines looked up at Gavin, who was rifling through the drawers of his dresser. “Reed, what are you doing?”

Gavin continued to rummage through his dresser, not turning back to Nines. “My mom told me a story, after some other Seelie kids told me that there was no such thing as a  _ good _ Shadowhunter. I came home crying, scared that I would become an evil monster. She told me the story of four heroes, Shadowhunters, who protected the Downworld from their own kind. One died, one was cast out, and two were left alone. But they didn’t regret it, because they’d done what they knew was right.” Gavin stopped rummaging, pulling something out of the drawers and slowly turning back to Nines, covering whatever it was he’d found with his long tunic sleeves. “She told me that there were more and more Shadowhunters like them, that she knew that I’d be like them too, if I became a Shadowhunter instead of a Seelie Knight. That no matter what, I should always stand by what I think is right, no matter what anyone else says. And she gave me a gift, saying that she’d held onto it for someone worthy of it, and the legacy it carried. That it had belonged to one of the heroes, the one who had died, and that I should use it to follow their example.”

Nines felt the world stop as Gavin pulled the thin stele from his sleeve, holding it in his hands. While Nines’ was red marble, with black veins running through it, the one that had been made for his parabatai was black, with red veins running through it, the carved runes filled with shining gold. The crystals on the end that were used to channel the adamas’ power were once part of the same, longer crystal. The two crystals, one in Nines’ hands and one in Gavin’s, began to glow a soft gold, knowing that its counterpart was near. 

Gavin held the stele out to Nines. “It’s yours, you should have it.”

Nines looked up at Gavin and shook his head. “He gave it to her, she gave it to you. It’s yours, Gavin Reed. I can’t think of anyone more deserving.”

Gavin looked down at it. “To be honest, I haven’t used it. My father said it was a fae imitation of a stele, that it wouldn’t work. He made me leave it behind and I haven’t been back for anything more than court clothes in... forever. I never chose one, I learned with Tina’s and just got used to using hers...”

Nines slid his stele into his pocket before he stood up, reaching out and wrapping Gavin’s fingers around the stele. “It’s yours,” he said again, cupping Gavin’s cheek with his other hand. “It's not a choice between the Clave or the Downworld. It never is, never has been, and never will be. It’s always been a question of right and wrong, and finally the Clave is getting back on track, but that doesn’t mean it's infallible. That’s the legacy he left behind.”

Gavin smiled up at Nines, his grip on the stele tightening. He reached up and placed a hand over the one on his cheek, wrapping his fingers around Nines’ palm. “You’re a part of his legacy too, you know. You’ve done so much for the Downworld here. I can tell already and I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. You’ve carried on doing what you wanted to do in the first place, you protect people. It’s what you do, Nines.”

Nines’ eyes scanned over Gavin’s face, memorizing it as best he could. He looked like what he was; half-way between Seelie prince and Nephilim soldier, runes peeking from the hems of the tunic that was woven with Seelie magic and talent, a barely-visible pattern in the fabric of butterflies and mourning runes. 

Part Downworlder, part Shadowhunter, all Gavin Reed.

Nines tilted Gavin’s head up slightly, leaning down and pressing his lips to Gavin’s. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	10. Wanna Take a Drink of That Promise Land

It ended up taking eight days in Faerie for the sun to set in Detroit. Eight days of hiding out in Gavin’s childhood room. Gavin could eat fae food without repercussions, and he did. Nines had enough blood in his system for a few more days, though by the end of it he was getting a little testy. North joined them to help pass the time, then some of the other Seelie Knights joined them a couple of times, playing fae games around manipulating truths and questions. 

When it was finally time to leave, Gavin pressed his hand to a portion of the wall in his room, winding the ivy around one hand, clasping Nines’ hand in the other. His eyes fluttered closed, and as he concentrated, the ivy began to sparkle a soft silver colour. Gavin pushed his hand through the ivy and nodded to himself before stepping through, pulling Nines along behind him.

They emerged on the other side, standing in the centre of the glass greenhouse. The moon was rising over the Detroit skyline, and the leaves that had been green when they left were starting to take on their fall hues.

Gavin quickly walked back to his room, pulling Nines in before he disappeared into his closet for a few moments. When he emerged again, all traces of the Seelie prince were gone, replaced with the fully Nephilim appearance. 

Gavin shoved the stele into his tack pants pocket before pulling on a jacket. “We should find the rest of them, see where they got in the past few days.”

“How many days in Detroit time did we miss?” Nines held the door open for Gavin before falling into step beside him.

“I’d say three, possibly four, depending on how you count it. Enough time for shit to go really right.”

“Or enough time for the situation to go completely sideways,” Nines countered.

“The second, unfortunately,” Tina said as she approached the two of them, Lazzo and Chris at her side. “We’ve been kicked out, but Connor wouldn’t let them start till you got here.”

Nines frowned and looked through the open door behind them. He caught sight of Markus, Josh, and Connor inside. 

“You’ll tell us what they say?” Lazzo asked.

“If I can.” Nines turned back to his new friends. “I’m getting the feeling that this is about to become a hell of a lot more political.”

“Good luck.” Gavin squeezed Nines’ shoulder, and the vampire stepped into the room, the door shutting behind him.

Nines looked around the room. There were five chairs; three were occupied, and two were empty. At the head of the table was Jeffrey Fowler, head of the Institute. On his left sat Ada, her appearance as pristine as always. Nines inclined his head in a silent greeting, one his old friend mirrored. On Fowler’s right sat North, back in Seelie armour, unlike they had been when Nines and Gavin had last seen them the day before they left. Across the room, Markus and Josh were talking in hushed whispers, too quiet for Nines to hear.

Connor crossed to him, standing at his shoulder, their two heads inches apart. Nines looked to his friend, voice supernaturally quiet and fast, “What changed?”

“The wolves are breaking rank. They found out that the one that was killed was one of their kind, so they’re itching for a fight. The warlocks don’t listen to Ada-”

“And she’d never ask them to,” Nines interrupted.

“Exactly. Around a third of the warlock population has sided with Parker. I gather your visit to the Fair Folk went well?”

“I’m possibly out a few hundred life debts, but having the Lady’s grandson on our side helped.”

Connor raised his eyebrow. “Who, Gavin Reed?”

“Miamul was his mother.”

“Interesting. Did you learn anything else?”

“The Lady said that Parker had acquired a bargaining chip, something the Clave’s been after for a while. I have a few guesses, but nothing concrete.”

Connor nodded, turning back to the table and taking his seat, Nines standing to his right behind the chair. Markus and Josh mirrored their movements.

“I’ll call this meeting to order, given that I was the one that requested it,” Ada started. “We’re all aware of the vampire Parker James, and what he’s claiming. I want to know if we’re gearing up for war here.”

“Nines?” Connor directed.

Nines nodded, stepping forward to be in line with Connor. “I have been working with several Shadowhunters within the Institute over the past few weeks in an attempt to uncover Parker’s motivations. We have found several things, each more troubling than the last, a handful very personal and very targeted at Connor and I.

“Our findings lead us to believe that several years ago, a Shadowhunter went rogue and killed a wolf in cold blood, and attempted to kill Parker James as well. I believe that the two of them were courting, as several years ago, Parker James arrived back at our manor covered in wolf blood and was incredibly, visibly, traumatized.” Nines took a deep breath and looked to Markus and Josh. “Given that the two of you are the only ones in this room who do not know of my history, I will inform you now. 

“218 years ago, I was de-runed and expelled from Shadowhunter society, after succeeding in evacuating the city of Bath alongside my parabatai and the parabatai we’d formed marriages of convenience with to hide the four of our sexualities and relationships from the Clave at large. 217 years ago, I was turned by Connor after relying heavily on the original form of yin fen.” 

Markus sat up straighter, leaning back into his chair. Behind him, Josh exhaled in a low whistle.

“This,” Nines continued. “Was the past that I decided to share with Parker in an attempt to calm him down. I’m afraid that my story may have convinced him to not report the rogue Shadowhunter. Neither Connor nor I were ever told by Parker that a Shadowhunter had killed his partner, or attempted to kill him. He rendered our new system with the Institute completely ineffectual. He’s choosing to frame their lack of action as willful ignorance.”

“If what he’s claiming is true, I’ll need names,” Fowler spoke up, and Nines looked to the Institute head.

“We both know who it likely was, as does Reed and his team. Beyond our suspicion, we have no evidence.”

Josh crossed his arms. “You gonna share this name?”

Fowler answered, “With all due respect, no. This is on the Nephilim to handle, giving you a name would do nothing but give you something to keep from your people.”

“Fowler is correct. However, Parker has several plans. One is all out war, but that’s the lowest on his list of options. He knows he wouldn’t win, he was banking on having the fae army back him up, which will not be happening. We have the Lady of Detroit’s word on that.” North nodded, confirming Nines’ statement.

“His second option is to find as many of the original Downworld signatories as possible, and convince them to side with him. Again, very unlikely now,” Nines continued.

“Why would he want the signatories?” Markus asked, brow furrowed.

Ada answered, “If four fifths of us still living wish, we could band together and overturn the original agreement that allowed for the Institute's establishment. It was one of the provisions Nines negotiated himself.”

Nines nodded. “I am, unfortunately, a contingent in all of his plans. However, he’s fucked himself beyond the point of redemption so far as earning my loyalty goes.

“He knows that if I were to side with him, the life debts of the original Bath evacuees would be up for grabs, earning him the power he’d need to win a war. If I sided with him, so would a majority of the signatories. And his third option requires my Shadowhunter education to authenticate whatever sacred item it is he’s secured as a bargaining chip.”

“Sacred item?” Fowler asked.

Nines shrugged. “The Lady said in passing that he’s acquired something the Clave has wanted for years. I have several suspicions, but without more information, I can’t narrow down my list at all.”

“So what do we do in the meantime?” Josh asked, a hint of bite to his voice.

“Sit tight, control your people as best you can, and trust that we’re handling it,” Nines bit back, less restrained.

“Nines,” the four Downworld heads said his name in their own warning tones. 

Nines sighed, took a deep breath, and spoke again. “Reed, Chen, Miller, Dewwell, Fratello, and myself have it under control.” Nines met Markus’ eyes. “If there’s anything you should know, I have no doubt Simon will pass it along.” He looked to North. “As will Gavin. And Ada, I hope you trust-”

“You’ll pass on anything I need to know, you don’t need to say it,” Ada interrupted.

Fowler looked to the dDwnworld leaders and nodded. “Well, I believe we can adjourn this meeting?”

“Not quite.” Nines said as Connor began to stand. “Since I’ve been here, Elijah Kamski has attacked me several times, once with a seraph blade. He’s also shared my _personal_ past and a portrait of people I lost painfully with the entire Institute.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“As long as I am here, I ask that Kamski is _not_.”

Fowler crossed his arms. “I don’t have that kind of power.”

“Did you not hear what I said? Or see what Kamski took _such care_ to ensure the entire Institute saw? I know you have that power.”

“If you want the Night Children’s continued cooperation, you’ll do what Nines asks,” Connor spoke up.

“If you want the _Downworld’s_ continued cooperation, you’ll do what Nines asks,” Markus restated, smiling his false, diplomatic smile. “Consider it a gesture of _good faith_. Show those still on the fence that you’ll listen to our concerns.”

Fowler rubbed his face and sighed. “Fine, _fine_.” He stood and left the room. Nines stuck his head out of the room, gesturing for his new friends to join them, noticing Tina’s wife had joined them. The group walked into the room, and Nines closed and locked the door.

“Few more chairs, Ads?” Nines asked, and Ada smiled. Clapping her hands together, her swirling blue magic conjured several more chairs at the table, enough for all of them to sit.

“Okay, we’re going to narrow down the list, possibly add to it, and figure out more shit,” Gavin said, sitting next to North. Nines leaned against the table, arms crossed.

“Okay, first thing’s first, the Mortal Cup and Sword are secured?” Ada said, snapping her fingers, and then the table was covered in snack food.

Tina reached over and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Checked it when Gav mentioned the bargaining chip. They’ve been secured for years. Unless he’s got Shadowhunters working for him, it's impossible to get to either of them.”

Simon grabbed some chocolate candies and sat next to Markus. “Those are the big ones, I’m willing to bet what he’s got is something with a quieter reputation, but just as sacred.”

“Okay, Jonathan or David’s stele?” Nines asked.

“Oooh, deep cut. Good idea,” Valarie said, pulling up her tablet and diving into research.

“The Morningstar sword’s been deactivated, but it still holds meaning, see if the Fairchild girl knows where it is,” Nines added. “I can keep listing possibilities if that would be faster?”

“Go for it, Nines,” Simon pulled out a tablet as he spoke, the other Shadowhunters doing the same.

“Okay, the original copy of the Accords, the first Grey Book, a shard of the original portal, the gem from the hilt of R-” Nines choked and huffed angrily.

“Raziel?” Gavin supplied and Nines nodded.

“Him. The gem from the hilt of his sword, the last chunk of original adamas, a piece of Glorious, Jonathan’s burial shroud. That's it for the nephilim artifacts, but it’s possible that what he has was a stolen Downworlder artifact.”

“Those exist?” Chris asked and the Downworlders nodded.

Markus nodded. “For us and the Night Children, a lot of the relics that belonged to the original vampire and the original lycanthrope were stolen by the Nephilim ages ago.”

“All we have left are stories of them, and they’re not the most reliable,” North continued. 

“Oral traditions never are.” Ada snapped her fingers, magic swirling. “We’ve got a few warlock artifacts the Clave lost. A crystal sphere that belonged to the first High Warlock to exist, a staff once owned by the demonic parent of the first warlock, and a small chest, said to contain the soul of the aforementioned first warlock.”

“Seelies don’t have any, but the UnSeelie court has supposedly lost some, although I don’t know them.” North shrugged, sipping on a juice box Ada had summoned.

“We have a lot, most prominent would be...” Markus trailed off and looked to Josh.

“Claw of the first werewolf, moon-shard that he used to learn to control the transformation, the shard of silver that killed him, and the pendant the demon that created lycanthropy gave him that would allow for a lycanthrope to earn one wish from the demon.”

“I don’t know much about vampire relics,” Nines admitted, gesturing for Connor to start.

Connor tossed an apple in the air, catching it in his hand. “Henry Eight owned one for a brief time - it was a tooth that once belonged to Cain. Then there’s the Seelie staff that grants the mark that was confiscated after the Mortal Wars, the tome created to explain how to become a daylighter, a few other less-important bits and bobbles.”

Val dumped her tablet on the table. “All the Shadowhunter ones are accounted for, aside from Glorious. They haven’t had a shard since the Mortal War. Last count had around a dozen still lost, 3 destroyed.”

Simon placed his down as well. “And the wolf and vampire relics were returned to the clan and pack of Idris on order of the Inquisitor a decade or so ago.”

Lazzo nodded, his legs crossed so he was almost perched on his chair, tablet in hand. “Same with warlock ones, though those were ceded to the high warlock of Alicante and haven’t been distributed.”

Nines frowned, his hand shooting out to catch the apple Connor was still throwing up in the air. Nines glared at his sire and placed the apple on the table just out of Connor’s reach. 

“If it is a part of Glorious, we’re heading into unknown territory. In my time, the Clave had recovered two pieces, and each was tested extensively, and each reacted in a different way. The only common thread is the summoning of heavenly fire, and only in the hands of Nephilim. It was theorized that the heavenly fire could be infused into adamas.”

Tina raised an eyebrow. “That's not in any of the files.”

“My fiancé became an Iron Sister along with my parabatai’s widow after I was deruned. We kept in touch.” Nines crossed his arms. “Either way, it didn’t work. All that happened was the piece burning up. It killed a Sister - nearly killed Elizabeth and Sarah too.”

“So, operating on the assumption that that’s what Parker has, how would we combat that?” Gavin asks.

“That part’s simple, no Nephilim or Fairfolk,” Nines stated, holding up his finger when the Nephilim and North began to argue simultaneously. “Do you _want_ to spontaneously burn to a crisp?” 

The protests fell silent. 

“That’s what I thought. The only thing we know for _certain_ is that Glorious reacts to angelic blood, and that includes the Fair Folk.”

“What about you, Nines?” Chris asked.

Nines leaned forward on the table. “I have Connor’s blood crawling through my veins, same as Parker. It's something we intend to use.”

“If we, hypothetically, let you go in, without us, what exactly would your plan be?” Lazzo asked from his corner.

“Ada and Markus grab a couple of their kind they trust completely, Nines and I do the same, and we handle it.” Connor walked to his jacket and pulled out a small corked bottle of dirt, holding it between his fingers. 

“What the hell is _that_?” Val asked and Nines shook his head.

Nines stood, taking the vial Connor offered. “In the 600 years Connor’s been around, he’s made a habit of collecting the grave dirt of his fledglings and clan members. If someone has grave dirt still around, Connor probably has it.” He held up the small bottle, and on the label, in Nines’ perfectly practiced handwriting, were the letters ‘P.J’.

“So what, you’re gonna summon him or something?” Lazzo asked.

Nines and Connor both smiled and shook their heads.

“Grave dirt does more than just summoning,” Connor said with a smirk.

“Not that we’ll tell you,” Nines tagged on, mirroring Connor’s smirk. It was scary how alike they acted for two people born 400 years apart. Nines chalked it up to the two centuries of knowing each other rather intimately.

“O...kay, when you two finish your creepy-twin look, would you do the favour of informing us what role we should play in all this?” Tina asked, earning a handful of popcorn thrown at her head by the vampires.

“Continue on business-as-usual, see if we can find any security feeds showing Elijah hunting Downworlders too,” Gavin answered, Nines nodding along. Gavin turned to North as the other Downworlders stood and grouped at the end of the table. “Get the rest of them and do your best to help keep the peace. We’re in unknown territory here. I don’t know how effective Nephilim will be out there.” 

Connor looked out the window. “Sunrise is in two hours, we have ten hours to plan.” 

Nines turned to the other Downworlders. “Manor’s compromised, Connor’ll grab who we need.”

“My office has blackouts,” Ada offered and Nines nodded, placing a hand on Ada’s shoulder. Markus and Josh both excused themselves, pulling Simon along with them as they left.

Connor and Ada placed supporting hands on Nines’ back. 

“What?”

Ada spoke gently. “You said their names, Nines.”

“You’re wearing gear, wore it to visit the Lady, you’re in an Institute, and you just shared your past with _Markus and Josh_.” Connor’s tone was the verbal equivalent of tiptoeing on broken eggshells.

“You said that a Shadowhunter here exposed your past to the entirety of the Institute. The number of people who know your history has grown _exponentially_.” Ada looked Nines in the eyes. “Are you okay?”

Nines shoved his hands into the pockets of the tack jacket. “I haven’t... Stopped moving, over the past few days. I haven’t given myself a chance to let it catch up.” He took a deep breath, letting his eyes shut. “I’m not letting it catch up, _on_ _purpose_. I can’t afford to, not right now. After we’ve handled Parker, I’ll...”

Connor shook his head. “You can’t shut down after this. I’m going to need you, Nines. There’s gonna be a hell of a lot of clean up.”

“I know, but I can’t shut down now. I’ll take it one day at a time.”

Ada sighed, placing a hand against Nines’ cheek. “When was the last time you _slept_ , Nines?”

“Unimportant.”

“ _Nines_.” The two mirrored warning voices were loud enough that Gavin and the rest of his team heard it. 

Gavin looked over at the group. The three of them looked like a matching set. Their familiarity was easily readable, with their arms around Nines. They were a small family, and Gavin wondered if Ada had helped find Nines after his deruning. They were all clearly close, and had been for a while. Nines didn’t touch people he wasn’t close with, that was one of the things Gavin had noticed.

“Are you really gonna let them sideline us?” Val’s voice reached Gavin through his fixation. He turned back to his friends.

“Are you insinuating that the heads of the Downworld don’t know their people best?” He turned to North. “Use the greenhouse, get on the streets as soon as possible.” North nodded, quickly squeezing Gavin’s shoulder as they left.

“Are you letting them sideline _you_?” Tina asked, arms crossed.

“For once, I have an advantage you _can’t_ share. I’ll meet North outside the theatre, try and contain things as best we can.”

“No you won’t,” Nines’ voice came from just over Gavin’s shoulder. 

Gavin turned and looked at Nines. “You can’t stop me, Nines.”

“Yes, I can. You’re staying here, in the Institute.” Gavin stood, arms crossed. 

Lazzo scoffed. “I’d like to see you try, to be honest.”

“Fiachan na beatha, I’m claiming it now,” Nines spoke softly, gently grabbing Gavin’s shoulders. “I need you safe,” he added, lowering his voice to the point that only the two of them could hear.

“How the hell do you have a life debt on Gavin already?” Tina asked, frowning suspiciously.

Nines’ eyes flicked to her over Gavin’s shoulder, not moving his hands. “I saved his mother’s life. Same as I saved Ada and Connor’s.” 

“Life debts are inherited, I’ve owed him one since she died,” Gavin said, his eyes not moving from Nines’ face.

“Nines, we’ve only got an hour and a half until sunrise, we need to get going.” Connor was just over Nines’ shoulder and Gavin saw the curiosity on his face. 

Nines’ eyes met his again and Gavin pulled Nines closer, whispering into his ear, “Fuirich sàbhailte, Nines. Thig air Ais thugam." _(Stay safe, Nines. Come back to me.)_

“Fuirich sàbhailte mo ghaol,” _(Stay safe.)_ Nines whispered back, pressing a quick, feather light kiss to Gavin’s temple before pulling back and disappearing in a blur of speed, followed by Connor. 

Tina laughed. “Ha, Lazzo, you owe me 20 bucks.”

Lazzo grumbled, handing over a 20. “Fucking parabatai senses.”

“When did _that_ happen?” Chris asked and Gavin realized that Ada had also disappeared, stepping through a portal.

He cleared his throat and grabbed a tablet. “We have work to do. For the Clave to move forward, we need proof Elijah’s been attacking Downworlders unprovoked.”

Tina nodded. “So we scour feeds, mission reports, anything and everything.”

“We might not find anything, Elijah’ll have covered his tracks.” Simon walked back to the table, smiling slightly. “Good news, though, apparently _someone_ issued an ultimatum, so he’s getting sent to Idris for a few months.”

Lazzo pointed at Simon. “I mean, Elijah attacked Nines. We have that, already sent it to Fowler.”

Gavin shook his head. “Father’s already bought Fowler’s silence, and we can’t send it past him without significant cause. So we need more.”

“Would your father-”

“No.” Both Tina and Gavin interrupted the beginning of Chris’ question.

Gavin’s grip tightened on the tablet in his hands. “He won’t help. Elijah shits sparkles and rainbows and can do no wrong in his eyes. He and his wife are the whole _reason_ Elijah’s like this.”

The group went to work, scouring every file Elijah appeared in. There were a lot, and there were files that had been erased. The only way to regain access to them would be if a high-ranking Clave member unlocked them. 

Hours and hours stretched on, and as the moon began its descent Gavin found himself unable to focus. He reached into his pocket, running his finger along his stele, knowing the other was with Nines halfway across the city.

Nines’ words echoed in his head; _‘mo ghaol’_ , my love. Nines had called him ‘my love’, in the first language Gavin had ever learned. The language he translated thoughts into and out of. His mind was constantly trying to translate thoughts into one language or the other. So much of his early childhood was in that language, so much of his _training_ was in that language.

His mother’s voice was in that language. 

And now Nines’ voice was echoing with hers, those same two words on loop in both voices. 

“By the fucking angel, that asshole,” Gavin muttered under his breath, banging his head gently against the table.

“Gav, you good?” His parabatai’s voice was full of amused concern.

Gavin pressed his forehead to the table in the ops centre both of them were standing at, not meeting her eyes. “I’m fucking _peachy_.” He shifted, letting his chin rest on the table to look up at Tina. “When I expire from overthinking small details, arrest Nines for me?”

Tina threw her head back, laughing loudly. “You poor, poor queer.” She shook her head, gently patting his shoulder. Gavin sighed, straightened, and went back to work, scouring for any proof that his brother was doing what they all knew he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted an illustration to Twitter of the line "Part Downworlder, part Shadowhunter, all Gavin Reed"   
> [You can find it here](https://twitter.com/marvelmerlin/status/1363322686403977216)
> 
> As always, feel free to yell at me about this fic or others on tumblr at marvelmerlinao3 or twitter at marvelmerlin! 
> 
> If people show interest I might start posting some tidbits about this and future projects over on twitter 👀Also probably gonna start posting heads up about when I'm gonna post the next chapters. Let me know if that's something you'd be interested it! (And all you regulars commenting know I see you and you bring light and life to my life 💖💖💖)


	11. You're Gonna Wake the Beast

“So, Gavin Reed?” Connor asked, sitting on the end of Nines’ bed. Nines rolled his eyes, finding himself  _ yet again _ grateful for the fact that his crawling blood wouldn’t flush his cheeks. Nines was in his giant walk in closet, changing out of the clothes that held such mixed significance for him.

“Only you would read that much into a  _ hug _ , Con.” He pulled on a pair of dress pants, folding the tack pants up to be returned to the Institute later. 

“Ada did too, you’re not subtle.”

“Fuck off.” Both of their original accents were out in full force; Connor’s Tudor London and Nines’ Regency Bath were a lesson in the nuances of language and accent changes over four centuries. 

“I’m just saying, you do have a type. Shadowhunter who became an asshole as a coping mechanism. I’d met him before, hadn’t put it together till you mentioned his mother, but one of my visits to Miamul he was there. Precocious kid, looked more fae than he does now.”

Nines pulled on a dress shirt, buttoning it up as he stepped into his room, stele firmly in his back pocket. “Elijah Kamski, the one that I got removed for attacking me?” Connor nodded in vague recognition. “Half brothers.”

“Clave stomped in and claimed him before the Downworld could?”

“His grandmother wasn’t about to go up against the Clave without allies. He regards her with the same attitude he regards his brother.” Nines finished smoothing out the shirt, looking at himself in the mirror, no longer looking like an un-aging, markless Shadowhunter, but like another version of himself. Nines, co-head of the Detroit vampire clan. 

“After this is dealt with, will you finally let me pass the clan to you entirely?”

“I’m not a leader, Con. I’m a soldier. I do what my sense of duty demands. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Connor hummed, brushing out a wrinkle in the back of Nines’ shirt. “Gavin Reed’s a leader.”

“He is. The Clave needs him.” He turned to his sire, and oldest friend, who was looking at him with confused concern.

“Nines, you know this won’t end well, right? He’s mortal, same as the rest of them. His Seelie blood might prolong his life, but-”

“I know, Connor. I am very,  _ very _ aware of the fact that Gavin will die one day, that he will age and I will not.”

“I don’t want to see you get that low again.” Connor rested his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “When you love, you love with your whole being. It's intense, and it nearly destroyed you once before. I can’t watch you do that to yourself, not again, not this time.”

Nines cupped Connor’s cheek. “You won’t need to. I’ve had 200 years to move on and get used to the idea of people I love leaving me behind. I don’t need saving again. I won’t.”

“You’re not a warlock, your predictions aren’t concrete.”

“It isn’t a prediction, Connor. It’s a promise. You’re my best friend. I love you and I owe you my life. I will always be here, my friend.” 

Connor scanned over Nines’ face and nodded, dropping his hands from his shoulders, satisfied. Nines opened the door and Connor stepped through to the office, Nines close behind him. Kara was waiting for them, equally as polished. The three of them unagingly perfect. 

“Shall we?” Kara said, a bag over her shoulder that clinked gently, filled with the vials of grave dirt that they’d need. One for every vampire that had joined Parker’s little uprising, and their own in case something went wrong.

“We’ve got 15 minutes, we’re going fast.” Nines took off, heading across the city as the edge of the Detroit sky tinged pink. 

“Cutting it a bit close there,” Ada said as she let them in, 3 minutes before the sun rose. “Everyone’s gathered in the main dining room, those of us who need sustenance are consuming it.”

Nines followed Ada into the dining room, blackout curtains drawn. Markus and Josh were sitting at one end of the table, two other wolves sitting with them. Three of them visibly tensed when the Night Children entered, and Markus continued eating while sending a friendly nod in Nines’ direction. Standing over a small cauldron was a vaguely familiar warlock with short hair and arms covered in scales. Next to her was a blonde woman with porcelain white skin, hair pulled back tight. 

“Introductions first, I presume. I’m Ada, High Warlock of Detroit, and owner of this house. If you have a night/moon child battle and fuck up my house I  _ will _ spell you.” She pointed to the scaled warlock. “Alana,” then to the white-skinned warlock, “and Chloe, both warlocks as well.”

“I’m Markus, alpha of the Detroit pack. This is Josh, my brother Leo, and Luther.”

“I’m Connor, head of the Detroit clan, this is my second-in-command Nines, and Kara.”

“Nines is also our direct link with both the Seelies and the Institute,” Markus added.

Ada nodded. “Nines is a great many things in this series of plans we’re likely to come up with.”

Nines looked between Connor and Kara and the still-tense wolves on the opposite end of the table. “Put aside whatever blood feud we have. Right now, our kinds are working together in an attempt to overthrow the peace we’ve worked hard to build and maintain. If we fail to do the same, we will lose, and we will die.” 

“All due respect, but who says they’re not right?” Leo asked and Nines caught the subtle glare Markus sent, his eyes glowing green.

Luther stared at his plate. “This started because a Shadowhunter killed one of our kind, hunted him for sport.”

“This started because Parker James returned one night covered in blood, unable to speak, and in an attempt to calm him down, I shared with him the fact that I was a Shadowhunter hundreds of years ago and the Clave deruned me for my sexuality and for aiding the Downworlders.” Nines kept his voice monotone and level, nearly robotic.

“Whether or not you sharing your past had anything to do with it,” Kara assured quickly, her hand on Nines’ back. “Parker  _ chose  _ not to report the murder to any of us, and we were unable to report it to the Clave.”

Nines was grateful for her touch, anchoring him down. Kara was one of the previously very few people he’d told his past to. She was as much a part of the clan leadership as he and Connor were, though she showed her support with care and love. 

Markus looked at his phone before looking back up to the group. “There are several Shadowhunters looking into this without a documented report, now. To see if they can find proof. And the suspected Shadowhunter has been recalled to Alicante.”

“Including Simon Dewwell, known  _ friend _ ,” Nines emphasized the word as he looked at Markus, who glared at him in response. “To the children of the moon, and lead by Gavin Reed, who is himself part Downworlder, and was raised in Faerie for his early life.”

“Uh, quick question, sorry,” Alana piped up, looking around the room. “But why aren’t there any shadowhunters or Fair Folk here?”

Ada shrugged, gesturing to Nines. “You’re the expert, figured we’d let you explain it.”

Nines nodded, holding his hand out for the book he’d asked Kara to grab. She obliged, pulling it from her purse and handing it to him. Nines leafed through the pages, stopping on one depicting Glorious. He placed the book on the table and pressed his finger to the drawing.

“This is Glorious, originally made for and wielded by the Archa-” Nines choked on the word again, clearing his throat. “By this being.” He pointed to Michael’s name on the page.

“Archangel Michael,” Connor supplied, and Nines felt grateful, yet again, that Connor could read him as well as he could.

“Him, thank you. It was shattered and lost in his fight against Lucifer. In the thousands of years the Shadowhunters have existed, they’ve only succeeded in locating three shards of it. We’re operating on the assumption that Parker James has located and come into possession of another shard, something the Clave is always seeking. He intends to use it as a bargaining chip. Our job is to find it, and get it out of his possession.”

“And into the hands of the Clave anyways?” Leo’s voice was dripping with venom.

Both Nines and Markus glared at Leo. Nines bit back, “I honestly couldn’t give two shits where it ends up, so long as it isn’t used as a bargaining chip to undo what I’ve spent nearly two centuries of my life dedicated to creating and protecting.”

Markus’ eyes glowed green again, growling at his brother, “Leo, that's  _ enough _ .” 

“To answer your question,” Nines turned back to the warlock. “Glorious activates with heavenly fire in the hands of angel-blooded creatures. Heavenly fire has the ability to destroy those with demon blood, so we’re going to keep the fae and the Nephilim out of this.”

“So what’s the plan here?” Chloe asked, leaning against the table. Connor, Ada and the rest of the Downworlders looked at Nines expectantly.

Nines focused on the drawing, not meeting his friends’ eyes. “Ada, Markus and Connor will attempt to get as many of our people out of there as possible. The rest of us will go in under the guise of joining him.”

Markus stood up, looking at Nines with concern. “ _ Nines, _ no.” 

Ada’s arms crossed. “I agree with Markus, you’re not playing into his hands.”

Connor was right behind his shoulder, whispering, “You’re not doing this, Nines, this whole plan could backfire  _ spectacularly. _ I’m not letting you walk into that without me.”

“You can’t stop me, Connor. I’ve run about twelve different plans through my head in the last few hours, and this is the  _ best _ option. Least possible casualties.”

Kara’s voice was over his other shoulder, her hand still on his back. “Nines, how many casualties do you see this one having?”

“Just one.” Nines looked at each and every face in the room before looking back down at Glorious.

Markus was next to Connor, Ada next to Kara, both of them closing in on him. 

“Nines, are you  _ sure _ you’re willing-”

Nines interrupted Markus’ question. Gone was the neutral tone, his voice was all furious passion now. “I’ve already died once for the downworld, been tortured for it. My answer will  _ always _ be yes.”

“Self-sacrificial Nephilim.” Ada sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

Nines closed his eyes slightly, and Markus placed a hand on his other shoulder. “Nines, have you shared this plan with Gavin? Any of them?”

Nines’ voice was soft. “No.” He fell quiet as he heard Gavin’s words echo through his head, his one request;  _ “Come back to me” _ . He’d do his best, but if needed, he would die before he let any other Downworlder fall to Parker’s whims.

Nines took a deep breath, straightening and shrugging off his friends’ hands. “It’s a 50/50 chance, but a 90% chance of success. Those are the best possible odds without just surrendering to him.”

“I’d rather die than surrender to a bloodsucker, no offence,” Leo said.

Connor smiled wryly, looking at the wolf. “That’s the first thing you’ve said I agree with you on.”

The group spent the next ten hours detailing their plan, and the warlocks prepared to use the grave dirt vials to summon the vampires out of the theatre, forcing them to return to the manor. Nines broke up his group into smaller groups; Kara and Luther, Leo and Alana, Chloe and Nines. Each group would take a different entrance, and wait for Nines’ confirmation that they had located Glorious before joining them. 

Nines excused himself from the group, finding a small, dark room to be alone in. Nines slid his stele and his phone out of his pocket, holding one in each hand. Nines had gotten Gavin’s number from Markus, who in turn had gotten it from Simon. 

Nines weighed the two objects in his hands and pressed the call button, getting sent straight to voicemail.

“Good, you’re busy. We’re heading out in.... Less than an hour, and I did a bunch of calculations...” Nines sighed. “It's 50/50 I make it out of this, so if I don’t, I’m charging you with taking over for me. Protect the Downworld, Reed. Protect our people. And remember, if it ever becomes a choice between the Downworld or the Clave, the Clave is beyond saving.”

Nines took a deep breath. “Connor said to me, when we were evacuating Bath, that it isn’t on any one person to save the world, but I think it's more than that. One person can’t save the world, but they can make it better. Make our world better, mo ghaol.”

Nines disconnected when Connor knocked on the archway of the room.

“Sun’s down.”

Nines nodded, sliding his stele back into his pocket, but leaving his phone behind. “Let’s go.”

They broke into groups as they left, Nines pulling Chloe into his arms and taking off. He stopped three blocks away from the theatre, putting her down gently.

Chloe straightened her hair and Nines straightened his clothes. “Who’d you call?” 

“Only person not here I want to say goodbye to.”

Chloe placed a gentle hand on his forearm. “You can back out, Nines.”

“I’m not scared to die, Chloe. I’ve done it before. Confronted my mortality, prolonged or not, a few centuries ago.”

“If you’re sure...” Chloe pulled out a dozen or so vials of grave dirt and began summoning the vampires inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five more chapters and a mini-postlude to go 👀(of this plotline and story) Hopefully I'll be posting the first chapter of the second story by mid-March.
> 
> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin (where I give heads up about updates) and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	12. Hide Your Soul Out of His Reach

Connor stood just down the street of the theatre, ready to command them to return to the manor. Ada and Markus were on either side, Markus’ eyes green and Ada’s magic swirling around her body.

As the occupants of the theatre trickled out, all confronted by their leaders, Nines slipped into a back door with Chloe close behind, completely unnoticed. The inside of the theatre reeked of blood, the scents mingling and nearly overwhelming him. Nines stopped mimicking breathing, forcing the scents out of his mind.

On the old stage of the theatre was a high-backed, shimmering, silk-covered chair. It was clearly meant to look like a throne, it’s huge arms curling obscenely.

“You never could do anything halfway, could you, PJ?” Nines raised his voice to the familiar figure lounging in the chair.

The vampire grinned. “It’s the  _ imagery _ that makes the revolution, my friend. Red, black, all that shit. You think they get hot men in Les Mis by  _ accident _ ?”

Nines grinned falsely, not taking his eyes off of Parker. “Unfortunately for my sense of taste, history does agree with you there.”

“What are you doing here, Nines?”

“I received word that you have something in your possession that will force the Clave out of the city, whether I am for it or not.” He shrugged. “I like to be on the winning side.”

Parker grinned, fangs extended, as he beckoned the two of them forward. “And who is this  _ lovely _ warlock?”

Nines walked to Parker’s staged throne, Chloe by his side. “Ah, how rude of me!” Nines faked his convienial tone, but with 200 years of diplomatic practice, it was hard for those who didn’t  _ truly _ know him to tell the difference. “This is Chloe, a new acquaintance of mine. Similar desires though.”

Parker rose from his chair, taking Chloe’s hand and kissing it in greeting. She smiled blandly. “Mr. James, lovely to put a face to the name.”

Parker’s grin was permanently affixed to his face. “Absolutely  _ charmed _ .”

“Out of curiosity, PJ, what  _ did _ you manage to find?” Nines kept his hands firmly clasped behind his back, fighting the urge to cross them and close himself off.

Parker’s eyes sparkled. “I’m willing to bet you have your suspicions.”

Nines shrugged, smiling back falsely. “You know me well, PJ. I listed the possibilities, narrowed it down to the most likely.”

Parker opened a hidden compartment in the throne, pulling out a small wooden box. The box was plain, a brass latch holding it closed. Parker opened the box, turning it to Nines. Inside was a sliver of metal no bigger than Nines’ thumb. It looked like adamas, but when it caught the light just right, it shimmered gold.

“Holy  _ shit _ , PJ.” Nines stared at it, resisting the urge to grab it. “Where’d you even  _ find _ it?”

“It was in a museum, mixed in with a jumble of other sword fragments. I nicked it cause it looked pretty. Now I’m  _ very _ glad I did.” He snapped the lid closed. “I take it, it's actually the real thing.”

Nines nodded. “It’s real, alright. That makes four known shards of Glorious, the Clave’ll be begging for it. May I?” Nines held his hands out to take the box, and Parker obliged, placing it in Nines’ hands.

“You know we also have a small stockpile of Seraph blades.” Parker gestured to the dull, unactivated blades to the side of his throne. “The Nephilim aren’t big fans of when the Downworlders fight back. They just drop their weapons and run.”

Nines heard Josh’s familiar gait, and Kara’s quiet steps. He heard doors open as those he trusted most slowly surrounded Parker.

The shine in Parker’s eyes dulled, his grin turning dangerous. “You don’t think I can win, do you?”

Nines shook his head. “I think you  _ can _ . I don’t think you  _ should _ .”

“So you conspired with your friends to take my bargaining chip.... That’s cold, Nines. Even for  _ you _ .” 

Nines felt the knife before he saw it, smelt the poison on the blade before he felt it. Things happened fast. 

Parker’s hand withdrew, leaving the blade sunk deep in Nines’ chest. 

Nines heard Connor and Markus growl, followed by the growls of Leo, Luther, Josh and Kara. 

He heard two legs turn into four, and the ripping of fabric as they lunged to try and stop Parker from escaping. 

Nines tightened his grip on the box in one hand, yanking the blade out of his chest with the other.

He heard the splintering of wood as the box was crushed in his hand, feeling the cold metal of the shard touch his skin. He felt Connor’s hands on his back, steadying him, and he saw the warlocks converging on him, magic flaring to try and heal him. He closed his eyes tight.

Then he felt the metal in his hand start to heat up, hotter and hotter. It was burning. He pried his eyes open and looked at his hand. It was engulfed in golden flames, and the flames were spreading up his skin. Nines felt Connor’s hand on his shoulder and used all of his strength to shove him away.

Nines was vaguely aware that he was screaming, but he drew the shard closer to his body. He wouldn’t let the flames touch his friends, his  _ family _ . It could  _ kill them _ . He clutched the shard close to his chest, feeling the burning flames grow stronger and stronger, engulfing his entire body. 

And then it stopped. 

And the shard was  _ gone _ .

Nines pried open his eyes and looked at his empty hands; the world was moving differently. He heard a soft humming in his ears. Nines shook his head and placed his hands on the floor to push himself up, and then he saw it.

On the back of his hand, was a rune. The first one he’d ever received. Then he realized the humming wasn’t a humming at all, it was a  _ beating _ . Nines raised his fingers to his neck, and sure enough, for the first time in 217 years, Nines’ heart was beating.

Nines pushed himself off of the floor, standing up. He reached into his back pocket, eyes screwed shut, and pulled his stele out, holding it in his hand. Nines took a deep breath and opened his eyes and gasped.

The crystal on the end of the stele was glowing softly. 

“Impossible,” he whispered under his breath. He looked to the piled seraph blades and walked towards them, only three steps, but 14 heart beats.

Nines crouched down next to them, cautiously reaching a hand out, stopping at the last second. What if this wasn’t real. What if he was dead. What ifs swirled in his mind. Nines shoved them all down and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the sword.

The runes lit up their soft blue with a gentle hum. Nines spun the blade experimentally in his hand, and it’s hum grew ever so slightly louder.

Nines held the blade in front of him, staring at it. “By the angel,” he said then clapped his hand over his mouth. Grinning, Nines lowered his hand again and began testing names he hadn’t been able to say for two centuries. “Raziel, Michael, Gabriel, Ithuriel, Jehuel, Telantes, Malik, Zaphkiel.” 

Several booming voices echoed in his mind, speaking as one.  _ ‘Richard Ashgrove, Nines, however you wish to be called, your punishment was not one we wished. You protected mortals from the power hungry ways of the past, and you have done nothing but continue on that path your whole existence, no matter the personal cost. We give you back the runes you lost, and your mortal life. Continue to serve humanity well.’ _

Nines grinned, deactivating the seraph blade and shoving the now empty hilt into his pocket. He pulled out his stele, and traced over the nyx rune just below his collarbone. His eyes adjusted with the rune’s power and he found Connor’s face and grinned.

Leo stared at him. “Nines, your heart... It’s  _ beating _ .”

Nines scoffed, smirking. “That’s not the most important thing that's happened in the past few seconds, but if that's what you’re choosing to focus on, good for you.” He turned to Markus. “Call Simon, tell him that the shard’s been neutralized, and get as many Shadowhunters down here and lock down the area. Ada, Alana, and Chloe, anti portal wards for the next few blocks at least, the whole city would be better.” 

Nines ripped a portion of the silk off of the throne, holding it in his hand and tracing the tracking rune on his arm. Two hundred years did little to undo this much conditioning, and now that he knew it would work, he wasn’t fighting it. 

“I’m going hunting,” Nines grinned and took off, seraph blade in hand.

He finally caught up to Parker on a rooftop, and he heard the footsteps closing in a perimeter. He wasn’t going anywhere. 

Nines slid the seraph blade from his pocket and willed it to life. He spun the glowing blade in his hand as he stepped out of the shadows towards Parker.

“Parker James, by order of the Clave and the Detroit Clan, you have forfeited your life.”

Parker stared at him, and Nines grinned as his runes continued to flicker with power. “What the  _ fuck _ ?!”

“Funny thing about angelic fire. It burns away demon blood, can destroy demons without a second thought.” Nines extended his free hand, looking over the visible runes on his forearms, his sleeves still cuffed. “But apparently, it can also restore a Shadowhunter wrongfully punished. I’m sure you can hear my heartbeat. Notice how calm it is?” He began stalking towards Parker. “There’s twenty minutes till sunrise, and the Nephilim are closing in. You’re out of options and won’t make it off this roof alive.

“I felt sorry for you, once. I thought you were like me, and all you needed was guidance. But instead, you let your pain stew, let it ferment into hatred and greed. You took whatever sympathy I may have had for you and discarded it the second you started creating yin fen. Whatever sliver may have been left was gone the moment you carved those runes into that innocent mundane’s back.” Nines raised his blade, and smiled coldly. “You failed, Parker James. The Shadowhunters will  _ never _ abandon Detroit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The names Nines lists off are the names of angels, names that he couldn't say because of the reverence with which he said them in his previous life, like how catholic vampires can't say "God". These names are memorized by Shadowhunter children because they are what gives the seraph blades their power.
> 
> Time for some more PJ facts:  
> 1\. PJ's sense of style is Hawaiian shirts and jean jackets. All the time. (Mayhap he'd get along with Hank👀)  
> 2\. PJ was created to die. Literally it's a meme at this point, I always get to kill PJ. Emrys and I became friend because I killed PJ (with their permission dw). It's like, 60/40 that Parker dies in the fics I've written him into at this point. Let this be your warning if you go on to read any of the future fics I publish with him in it. He'll most likely dieeee.  
> 3\. In this verse, Parker was turned by Connor bc he was a failed murder victim, as in the murder left the poor baby to bleed out and die and Con found him.  
> 4\. Parker is my step-child and I'm love him so v much. That's not really a fact about PJ but it's true.  
> 5\. He's a space nerd. In his OG backstory he got Turned while at space camp. He's a lil nerd and I love him
> 
> You get a teensy bit more of Parker, but for the most part, thus ends Parker's story.   
> Me: 3  
> Parker: 0
> 
> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin (where I give heads up about updates) and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	13. Waitin' On That Morning Sun

Gavin had been next to Simon when he got the call, and after his initial relief that Markus was fine, they’d flown into action quickly. Gavin hit the alarm, summoning all the Nephilim to the ops centre.

Gavin kept his hands firmly at his side, addressing the whole Institute. “We have one job: find and contain Parker James. We are treating all Downworlders as allies, Parker is alone now. He’s lost his momentum, but he can’t be allowed to escape. Dismissed.”

And with that, Gavin, Tina, Lazzo, Simon, Chris, and Val were stepping through a portal and coming out just outside the theatre. Markus was waiting for them, and Simon ran straight into his arms and kissed him. 

“As happy as I am that this,” Gavin pointed between the two of them, “fucking _finally_ happened, where’s Parker and where’s Nines?”

Markus shoved a piece of silk in Gavin’s general direction, not breaking away from Simon. 

Nines’ voicemail had sounded too much like a goodbye, and Markus hadn’t said _anything_ about Nines when he called. Which was either _really good_ or _really bad_.

Gavin grabbed the fabric scrap and held his hand out to Tina, sliding his stele from his pocket and tracing her tracking rune as she traced his. Clasping their hands together, they focused on tracking the owner, and saw Parker, dodging out of attacks from some shadowy figure. A Shadowhunter with anti-tracking runes. No one from the Institute could have gotten there that quickly.

Gavin broke off the connection and took off, Tina close behind him. He scaled buildings and ran down streets. The edge of the sky was turning pink and orange, the sun would rise any minute now. 

Gavin stopped and exhaled with relief. Nines was a few roofs away, and he was fighting Parker.

 _And the sun was going to rise any minute_.

Gavin took off again, running to beat the sunrise. He barely registered the black marks on Nines’ arms, and the marks peeking from the collar of his shirt. He didn’t register that the seraph blade in his hands was not only out, but fully activated, their runes glowing.

All he saw was the vampires on the roof as the sun began to crest over the Detroit skyline. He didn’t give a _fuck_ what happened to Parker, but Nines was on the exposed roof too. 

Gavin landed on the roof behind Parker, whipping his seraph blades out, their runes glowing. 

Gavin fell into rhythm with Nines, and Parker was losing steam. Finally, Gavin managed to push past Parker’s evasion and pushed his shorter seraph blade through the vampire’s chest. As Parker turned to dust, Gavin tackled Nines to the ground, pulling him out of the rising sun’s rays.

Nines’ head cracked against the roof, and he let out a groan. “What the _fuck_ , Reed?” 

Gavin stared at him incredulously. “Sun, you undead asshole.”

Nines threw his head back and laughed, shoving Gavin off of him and pulling out his stele. Gavin watched in panic as Nines raised the object to his neck. Gavin reached out and knocked it out of his hand.

“ _Nines,_ **_what the fuck_ **?!”

Nines rolled his eyes and placed his hands on either side of Gavin’s face. “I’m not undead, mo ghaol, not anymore. Just _look. Feel_.”

Gavin slowly registered that Nines’ hands weren’t cold anymore. They were _warm_ . And his fae-enhanced hearing could hear a steady pulse. A _normal_ pulse. Gavin’s eyes widened and Nines smiled, dropping his hands from Gavin’s face as he began to unbutton his shirt.

Nines’ chest was _covered_ in familiar, swirling runes under a large cut. Gavin reached out his hands, tracing them along the inky black strokes. The sunlight hit them, and Nines’ eyes fluttered shut, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin for the first time in two centuries. 

Gavin watched a slow, content smile spread across Nines’ lips. Gavin reached out with his stele and traced the iratze he’d stopped Nines from activating.

Nines’ eyes fluttered open when Gavin placed his hand on Nines’ chest, right over his heart. Gavin felt its beat, counting each pump of his heart. Nines slid his hands into Gavin’s hair and pulled his head to his chest.

Slipping his hands around Nines’ waist, Gavin pressed his ear into Nines’ chest, tapping his finger along with his heart. Nines closed his eyes again, turning his face towards the rising sun and resting his cheek on the top of Gavin’s head, feeling his curls tickle his nose with every breath he took. With every breath he _needed_ to take.

“You’re.... Alive, again,” Gavin murmured against his chest. 

Nines smiled, humming softly in assent. “I’m Nephilim again.”

“How?” 

“I touched the shard of Glorious, and it _activated_ . Heavenly fire was burning away at my blood and then I was _fine_ . And my runes were back, and my heart was beating, and when I touched my stele it lit up again, and when I picked up a seraph blade it activated. I can say angels’ names again, I can use runes again.” Nines’ smile widened. “I heard their voices, the angels. They said that I was _wrongfully punished_ , Reed. They gave me back my runes. Gave me back my _life_.”

Gavin shifted, looking Nines in the eye. “You’re not immortal anymore, you’ll grow old and die.”

Nines took a shallower breath. “I know... I haven’t seen Connor or Kara or Ada since. I don’t know, I just...” Nines trailed off and he leaned his forehead against Gavin’s. 

Gavin raised his hand and brushed his thumb over Nines’ cheek. “We’re soldiers, it's what we’ve been trained for, what we’ve been raised to be. I think they know that.”

“Diplomacy sucks, I’m good at it-”

“Amazing at it.” Nines blushed and Gavin grinned at the sight, feeling Nines’ cheek grow warmer. 

“But it’s never been my strongest suit. I’m a strategist, a _battle_ strategist. For my entire life I’ve looked at _every single interaction_ like a battle. I plan, and I plan. I run contingencies, I run scenarios. I test things in my mind before I even think about going through with them. That isn’t diplomacy.” Nines sighed. “I’m a soldier. It's what I do best.”

“Nines, they’re still your family. Just because you die doesn’t mean they’ll forget you.” Gavin tilted Nines’ chin up, holding their faces level. “This isn’t a permanent thing. If you want to be a vampire, I won’t hold it against you. No one will. You have a choice here, Nines. The angels didn’t give you back your life, they gave you back your _choice_.”

Nines slid his stele into his palm, watching it spring to life in his now-living hands. Gavin slid the matching stele from his own pocket, holding it in his hand next to Nines. The previously soft golden glow was much brighter, almost too bright to look at. The metallic runes pulsed with energy.

Nines’ grip tightened on his stele, looking up from the glowing steles to Gavin’s eyes. Gavin met his gaze and found Nines’ eyes full of certainty. 

“This,” he said, his voice sure and strong, “I choose this.”

“Gavin! What the _fuck_ ?! You can’t just take... off....” Tina’s voice trailed off as she and the rest of their team reached the roof. “What, and I cannot stress this enough, _the fuck_ happened?”

Gavin stood, offering Nines a hand, one he gladly took. Nines grasped Gavin’s hand tightly, looking at Tina and shrugging. “I had enough angel blood to activate the shard.” Gavin smiled to himself when he realized Nines wasn’t faking his accent. “Turns out, the angels agreed with what I did, and _not_ with the Clave’s decision to de-rune me for being a gay/ace Downworld sympathizer.”

Val grinned, her arm around her wife’s waist. “Fuck yeah, angels are on our side.”

“Can I _please_ be the one to tell Elijah?” Lazzo was grinning too, and so were the rest of them. Val, Tina, Chris, Lazzo, and Simon were all grouping around them, taking in Nines’ runes.

“On one condition. I haven’t had food in 200 years and I am _fucking starving_.”

The group laughed, and Gavin gently patted his partner’s back. “We’ll get you some food, Nines. Time to experience the culinary wonders that have happened in the last 200 years.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin (where I give heads up about updates) and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3
> 
> Short bite-sized chapter today BUT there's a bonus drawing [You can find it here](https://twitter.com/marvelmerlin/status/1366926675502628864)


	14. Hard to Stand

One by one they jumped off the roof, landing in the alleyway that ran alongside the building. Nines scooped up the seraph blade that had been knocked out of his hand when Gavin had tackled him before following the group.

Markus was waiting at the entrance to the theatre, leaning against one of the pillars. He waved the Shadowhunters over. 

“Kara and Connor are stuck inside with a handful of other vamps, we’re sniffing a few more mundanes though, varying states of awareness and, ya know, life-ness.”

Nines nodded. “Stay here,” he said to the group before pushing the theatre door open and stepping inside. 

He scanned the dark room, running his stele along his nyx rune again, and focused on Connor and Kara, up by what had once been a bar in the lobby of the theatre. Nines slotted himself in the space they’d left open for him, familiar even in life. 

“How many mundanes are we dealing with?”

Kara’s nose twitched at the scent of Nines’ newly pumping blood. She hadn’t known him when he was alive. “Seven alive, three in the beginning stages of Turning, two dead, three dying.”

“Ada and her warlocks are healing the dying and the living have been encantoed. But those in the process of Turning....” Connor trailed off and Nines crossed his arms.

“The Accords do allow for Turning, as does the agreement....” Nines looked between his friends. “How close are they?”

Kara met Nines’ gaze, but her eyes continued to flick to the runes on his arms. “If buried, they’ll rise tonight. If not, they’ll die.”

Nines nodded. “I’ll take them, bury them on the edge of the old cemetery out in Ferndale. The Institute still has some blood left, a fair amount actually. I’ll get it ready.”

Connor nodded, frowning at the trail of dried blood on the back of Nines’ neck. Reaching his hand out, he gently cleaned the blood off. “Parker?”

Nines smiled and shook his head. “Reed. Tackled me out of the sun into a concrete roof.”

“But Parker is...?” Kara trailed off.

Nines nodded. “Taken care of, yes.” He looked to the rest of the Downworlders in the theatre, all waiting. “Reed brought his team, they’re all waiting outside. According to the agreement, Parker’s actions land solely on his shoulders, not on theirs.”

“But the Accords-”

“Here, the agreement supersedes the Accords,” Nines interrupted Kara. “I’ll argue it myself, if need be.” Nines grinned at his friends. “Afterall, I don’t have to hide my knowledge of Nephilim law anymore.”

“You’d risk it?” Kara asked.

Nines chuckled softly. “I’m fairly certain if the Clave de-runes me a second time for protecting the Downworld, the angels themselves may physically manifest to fight them.”

“I’m sorry,  _ what? _ ” Connor looked at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, so the thing about Glorious is it burned away the demon blood, but it didn’t restore my runes. The angels spoke through the heavenly fire. They don’t agree with the Clave’s verdict or punishment. They included the Downworld among the mortals, and charged me with continuing to protect humanity, including the Downworld.”

Connor grinned. “Well,  _ shit _ .”

“I wish my brother was alive  _ purely _ so I could shove it in his face.” Nines’ grin matched Connor’s and Kara’s.

The trio fell into comfortable silence, looking at their people around them. Nines didn’t miss the clan members' staring eyes, and he looked to Connor.

“We’re probably gonna have to explain this,” he gestured to his runes. “To the rest of them, at some point.”

“Tonight? After we’ve raised the fledglings?”

Nines crossed his arms, leaning against the bar. “Tonight. I need to.... Figure some shit out first.”

Kara placed her hand on Nines’ shoulder, and he could feel the difference in their temperatures now, could feel the strange absence of a pulse. “You’re more than welcome to stay, Nines. We’re not gonna force you out of your home.”

“I know, I just...” Nines sighed and gestured to the clan members in the shadows, all of them suddenly guarded. “Look at them. You think they feel  _ safe _ around me like this? The manor has always been Night Children  _ only _ . Regardless of clan affiliation.” He gestured to the three of them. “We worked for a hundred years to get it there. I won’t undo all the diplomacy I suffered through just to stay somewhere familiar.”

“Still making personal sacrifices for the Downworld. You haven’t changed in 220 years, Nines,” Connor teased fondly, but Nines knew him, and he knew that he was agreeing with his assessment, even though it meant leaving their home. And as much as she wanted to argue, Kara did too.

“I’ll figure shit out once you’re all safe and the fledglings are buried. If the Institute gets weird, I’ll crash with Ada.”

They stayed in silence for a few more moments before Connor said, “you should get your team, Nines.”

“Before I do...” Nines trailed off then climbed on top of the bar, shouting for the Downworlder’s attention. “Hi, hello! A good chunk already know me, but my name is Nines. I was a member of the Detroit clan, but due to strange and unusual circumstances, I’m back to being a Shadowhunter. We’ll be explaining this further later tonight.

“I’m as aware of Parker’s reasons for attempting to rebel as the rest of you. He’s been dealt with according to the laws of the Clave and the Agreement. According to the Agreement, his punishment will  _ not _ extend to any of you. But, if any of you have been personally attacked by Shadowhunters unprovoked,  _ please _ come forward now. We can’t do anything about it without concrete evidence.” Nines pointed to the doors. “There are a group of Shadowhunters outside those doors who have taken it upon themselves,  _ unasked _ , to try and find proof. So if you’ve been attacked,  _ please _ come forward, either through your leaders or by yourself. We can’t allow this to continue, but we can’t do anything about it without your help.”

Nines took a step off of the bar, landing on the floor and walking to the doors, opening one slightly and sticking his head out. Everyone was leaning against the doors, waiting and watching as Markus and Simon made out against the wall.

“Oh, great. That finally happened!” Nines stepped out all the way and threw a pebble at Markus’ arm, who pulled away from Simon and glared at him. “Your people are gonna need you, Markus. Get in there, please.”

Markus sighed, straightening his clothes before stepping into the theatre. 

“Everything good?” Gavin asked, and Nines nodded.

“Seven mundanes have been encantoed to forget, there are two dead and three dying, the warlocks are healing them and then wiping them, avoid any traumatizing memories. The last three I’ll be dealing with later.”

“Dealing with?” Tina clarified, and Nines crossed his arms, leaning against the theatre doors.

“They’re too far into Turning, they’ll all rise tonight if buried. If not, they’ll die.” Nines shrugged. “Connor and I have cleaned up failed bleeder dens before, I’ll handle it. They’re protected under the Accords and the Agreement.”

“You need help?” Simon offered, his hair messed up seven ways to hell.

“See how they react to you all first.” Nines gestured with his head to the theatre. “I asked them to come forward to you lot if they’d been attacked by any Shadowhunters. So we’ll see.”

“You think Elijah might have gone after them?” Lazzo’s arms were crossed.

Nines nodded. “I know these people. They were my clan, and some of them I could believe were just itching for a fight, but some of them... They wouldn’t join Parker unless something happened.”

“Were?” Gavin spoke softly, his shoulder pressed against Nines’.

Nines looked at his partner. “I dedicated 100 years of my life to making the manor a safe place for vampires, clan members or not. All that work would just go out the window if I continued to stay there. No one kicked me out, but like I said, I know these people.”

“So you’re staying at the Institute? Permanently?” Lazzo asked, his voice surprisingly hopeful.

Nines shrugged. “If it isn’t too strange for them.”

Tina leaned against Nines’ other shoulder. “The only ones who might say no are Elijah’s lackeys. And honestly, they can fuck themselves with cacti.” Nines laughed along with the rest of the group.

A knock sounded on the other side of the door and Connor’s voice came through. “We’ve got some. A couple warlocks, three vamps, and two wolves.”

Nines stood up, shouting back. “We’re coming in in a minute.” He turned to the group. “Game plan?”

“Tina, Lazzo, Val, and Chris, you guys take statements, get descriptions. Simon, you’re with us.” Gavin turned to Nines. “We’ll help you with the fledglings.”

Nines nodded, looking between the group. “Keep your steles but make a show of disarming when you get inside. Make them feel as safe as you can.”

Gavin tapped Tina’s shoulder and each of them started braiding the hair above his ears back, showing off Gavin’s ears. Gavin tapped Nines’ arm and gestured to his glamour rune. Nines nodded, pulling out his stele and running it over his partner’s rune, deactivating it and watching the Seelie tattoo bloom across his temples. 

Nines opened the door, stepping inside first, Gavin right behind him. Lazzo was the last through and closed the door tightly. The group started stripping off their gear, folding it all up and placing it all in piles by the door, their seraph blades and other weapons placed on top of each pile. 

Nines pointed to the backstage entrance. “Tina, Lazzo, Valerie, and Chris, find dressing rooms and get set up.” The four Nephilim nodded and Nines gestured for Ada, Markus and Connor to come forward, each of them stepping away from their small groups. “The four of them are going to handle the statements. The three of us,” he gestured to himself, Gavin and Simon, “can’t be involved, or they can claim preferential treatment, conflicts of interest or any number of other loopholes.”

“Something at which my father  _ excels _ ,” Gavin added. “If Elijah’s the one that attacked any of them, I can’t take statements anyways. Clave still recognizes blood over choice. For the paperwork purposes, Tina’s the one leading this.”

“Your plan is to represent them all, right?” Ada asked Nines, who nodded.

“I spent years studying Clave law, and as far as I know, the only changes have only really been the Accords. I’ll catch up as much as I can.” He looked to Connor. “The Fledglings?”

Connor pointed to the coat check room, and Nines nodded, walking towards the closed off room, Gavin and Simon following behind him.

Nines hopped the counter, spotting Alana and Chloe by the back door. 

“The fledglings?” He asked and Chloe pointed over her shoulder.

Alana slung a backpack off her shoulder. “Ada told us it was pretty likely that there’d be some fledglings, so I brought supplies just in case.” She offered the bag to Nines, who gladly took it.

Nines opened the bag, rifling through and nodding. “Alana, Chloe, would you mind bringing Gavin and Simon’s gear? We’ll leave through the back door.”

The warlocks nodded and walked towards the front of the coat check, using their magic to pull the two piles and the weapons towards themselves.

“New friends?” Gavin asked, standing beside Nines.

Nines was aware of the eyes trained on the both of them, no doubt Gavin was as well. “Ada chose them as those she trusted most, so yes. New friends.”

Nines crouched down by each of the fledglings, pulling three small devices from the bag and clipping them to three bits of cord, tying one around each of the fledglings’ necks. Gavin and Simon pulled their gear back on as Nines pulled out his phone and turned on each of the devices, waiting for the small blinking dots to appear on the screen before sending the location tracking off to Connor.

“What’s that?” Simon asked, reaching out to pick one up before Nines gently slapped his hand away.

“Fledglings have a tendency to run away and panic after they crawl out of their graves. They don’t check what they’re wearing, but we don’t want to force a tracker on them so we have temporary ones. Once they’re more controlled and aware, they hand them back themselves,” Nines closed the bag and slung the pack over both his shoulders, gently pressing his fingers to the neck of the fledgling at his feet, counting their pulse. He did the same for each of the other fledglings and nodded. “We’ve got till about 8pm before these ones awaken or die. Let's go.” 

Nines slipped his arms under the back and knees of the fledgling at his feet, pulling them into his arms. Gavin and Simon followed suit, each of them picking up a dying mundane.

“Do you know where you’re going? We can portal you,” Chloe offered, and Nines nodded.

“The old cemetery just outside Ferndale. It's not in use anymore, hasn’t been for around a century, but it's still sacred ground, which is all we need.”

Chloe nodded, summoning a portal, and Gavin and Simon stepped through, picturing the entrance to the cemetery Nines had described. Before Nines stepped through, Alana grabbed his arm gently.

“I don’t know if you remember me, but I was one of the warlocks you helped escape Bath.”

Nines nodded, a small smile over his face. That’s why she had looked familiar. “You cut your hair," he noted, and the warlock smiled. “I remember every face, but Connor encantoed us after every evacuation to ensure the Clave couldn’t torture names out of us. I only know a handful of names that Connor told me after I was deruned.”

Alana released her grip on Nines’ arm. “There are a lot of us out there, and we’ve never forgotten what you did for us. If you need us, even beyond a life debt, we’ll be there if you call for us.”

Nines nodded. “Hopefully, Raziel willing, that day never comes.” With that, Nines stepped through the portal and into the sunny cemetery. He flinched out of instinct, before taking another deep breath and letting the warm sun and the brisk morning breeze wash over him.

“So you guys got a spot you usually do this?” Simon asked.

“Of course we do. Connor and I’s graves.” Nines began the walk down the familiar path.

“I’m sorry, your  _ what _ ?” Gavin asked, following behind him.

“Different from my grave in London. Around 80 or so years ago, the government thought Connor and I were secret soviet spies, tried to arrest us. We faked our deaths and got buried  _ again _ , here.” Nines stopped in front of a giant, intricately carved white marble tombstone. “Do not recommend being buried. It’s cramped and smells damp and dirty and  _ not fun _ .” Nines sat the fledgling he was carrying on one of the old benches. 

He stepped over the short fences of his and Connor’s empty graves and placed his hand over the cross between their names. The gravestone glowed a soft blue and the fences disappeared, and the gravestone, their names carved into it, opened like doors to a closet. Inside were several shovels and a handful of vials. Nines pulled out three shovels and pulled the hinge that was attached to the marble slab that the grass had grown over, revealing loose dirt underneath.

“Aren’t we supposed to bury them in coffins?” Simon asked and Nines resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“You two are about to become members of a small contingent of shadowhunters who get to see how we  _ actually _ prepare our fledglings.”

“I’m guessing that means shut up and do what you tell us?” Gavin asked and Nines smirked.

“Reed, I would never tell you to shut up. You have much too pretty a voice for that.” Nines pulled the slab to the side, grinning as Gavin sputtered quietly behind him. Gavin propped his fledgling next to Nines, Simon doing the same.

“You listen here-” Gavin started but Nines rolled his eyes, pulling his partner close by the straps on his gear jacket and kissing him. Gavin found himself leaning into the kiss; he hadn’t actually had anything to say to complete his statement. Nines was quickly becoming the only person he’d let shut him up.

Nines pulled back and smirked, releasing Gavin’s tack jacket and watching the Shadowhunter stumble to find his footing again. Nines slung the backpack off his back, pulling out three tightly folded sheets of canvas. He tossed one to Gavin and one to Simon.

“Wrap them, keep their bodies as straight as you can. Rigor mortis  _ does _ set in partially once the burying starts, and if the body isn’t laid to rest carefully, the extremities can get broken when they first awaken.” Nines unfolded the canvas and spread it on the ground, picking up the larger of the fledglings and carefully crossed their arms across their chest. “Keep the legs as straight as possible, and Gavin, don’t touch their arms. Simon, you can fold them.” 

“Why does Simon get to fold his fledgling’s arms but I don’t?”

“Cause Simon knows what stage of rigor mortis they’re in, you don’t.”

Simon grinned. “That's true, minimal stage; muscles are just starting to seize up. You do something wrong, you’ll break a bone, Gav.”

Gavin grumbled, but did as he was told and merely straightened the limbs. “Don’t wrap tight, wrap gentle and loose. Tie as loose as you can, too,” Nines instructed as he began wrapping the canvas around the fledgling, loosely tying the small straps through the small holes. When the fledgling was wrapped and tied, Nines picked up one of the shovels.

Nines began digging right at the foot of the tombstone. “We’re digging perpendicular to the tombstone. Put about a metre between each grave, about one metre by two metres, one and a half metres deep.”

“And for those of us that don’t know the metric system because we’re  _ not _ from 19th century England?” Gavin asked, he and Simon pulling off their gear before picking up their shovels, Simon already marking out the size Nines specified.

Nines smiled and rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, “Americans,” before answering, “A yard is basically a metre, Reed.”

The three of them set to work digging out the loose dirt, clearing three nearly-identical shallow graves. Nines hopped out of the grave he’d dug and picked up the cadaver Gavin had wrapped, checking that it was all good before handing the fledgling’s feet to Gavin. 

“Gentle and slow. Simon, c’mere. Support their back and then their shoulders. Good,” Nines instructed, guiding the body into the first of the graves. “Same for the other two," he said as Gavin climbed out and into the grave Simon had dug. They repeated the process with the fledgling Simon had wrapped, Nines checking that nothing was too tight, and then finished with lowering Nines’ fledgling into the last grave.

Nines offered Gavin a hand out of the grave and pulled him out. “Loose layers, don’t pack anything down and  _ don’t _ walk on their graves,” Nines cautioned and the three of them began to fill the graves back in.

By the time the graves were filled in and Ada had come to watch over them until sundown, the sun was high in the sky. Nines checked his watch before pulling down his sleeves and saw that it was nearly 2pm.

“Holy  _ fuck, _ I’m hungry,” Gavin complained, brushing dirt off his hands.

Nines handed Gavin his tack jacket. “Agreed.”

Simon nodded, scooping up his own gear. “We should head back to the Institute, see if the others learned anything.”

Gavin leaned into Nines. “And probably, you know, explain why you’re no longer  _ dead _ .”

“Undead, mo ghaol. Don’t call a vampire dead, it’s highly offensive.”

“Why you’re no longer  _ un _ dead, then. Fact remains that we’ll have to explain it.” 

“Probably have to start some sort of paperwork to overturn my banishment from Nephilim society too.”

Simon shrugged. “I doubt the Inquisitor would stand against a complete pardon, actually.”

“I mean, I heard he was a solid ally to the Downworld. Beyond that, though-”

“Nines, the Inquistor is gay. Married to the High Warlock of Alicante,” Gavin interrupted. “They’ve been married like, 20 years or something. Before he was even named Inquisitor.”

Nines blinked, then smiled slightly. “Oh, well then.”

“You guys want a portal back?” Ada asked from her perch on the bench, a book in her hands.

“Please, if you wouldn’t mind.” Ada fondly rolled her eyes at Nines’ response, weaving her hands together and summoning a portal for the three of them.

They stepped through and into the entrance of the Institute. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin (where I give heads up about updates) and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


	15. Keep On

Gavin wove his fingers with Nines’ as they walked through into the ops centre. Nines spotted Tina and her wife at a terminal compiling a file while Lazzo was gathering the weapons they’d brought and returning them to the armoury a half level up from the ops centre. Nines walked beside Gavin and returned the seraph blade he’d grabbed from Parker’s small collection. 

“You bury some people?” Lazzo asked cheerily.

Gavin handed over his blades. “That sentence and that tone of voice should  _ not  _ go together.”

Nines smiled. “We  _ prepared _ the  _ fledglings _ , yes.”

“Gavin! Nines! Get your asses in here!” Fowler’s shouts came from his office door.

Lazzo grimaced. “Good luck with  _ that _ .”

Nines nodded, following Gavin into the Head of the Institute’s office. Fowler was standing behind his desk, arms crossed and frowning.

“Yes, sir?” Gavin asked.

“I  _ thought _ your investigation into the mundane murders and Parker James was ended.”

“It is, sir.”

“Then why the  _ hell _ is a prominent member of Downworld leadership still in my Institute?”

“Mr. Fowler-”

“Quiet, Downworlder,” he interrupted, continuing to look at Gavin. “I’m waiting for an answer to my question?”

“I am still here-”

“Did I or did I  _ not _ tell you to be  _ quiet _ ?”

Nines glared and stepped forward, placing his hands on the desk, leaning over it to look at the older shadowhunter. “I would  _ remind you _ that regardless of what you  _ think _ I should have done upon my Turning, which is the only reason a semi-high ranking member of the Clave would speak to a member of Downworld leadership this way, I chose not to take my own life. Thankfully, the angels disagreed with the Clave’s verdict and decided to give me back both my mortality  _ and _ my runes.” Nines shoved his sleeves up, showing his recently returned runes.

“As a child, I was trained in the finer points of Clave law. As a Nephilim in 19th century Bath, I aided the Downworlders, and was asked to help draft one of the first versions of the Accords. As a Downworlder, I was the foremost negotiator of the Agreement that allows this Institute to stand. I tell you this, because each of these has prepared me to bring forth  _ any case _ that pertains to mistreatment of the Downworlders of Detroit.” Nines stood slowly, crossing his arms and meeting Fowler’s steely gaze. “Should any come to light, that is.”

“Which,” Gavin added on, “we have evidence of. 6 cases, in fact, over the last ten years. With more expected to trickle in over the next few hours.”

Nines smiled coldly. “I will  _ personally _ be pursuing these cases to Idris and will present them to the Inquisitor myself, given that your authority has been rendered useless over the past decade. And as a shadowhunter, recently revived or not, I am entitled to stay in the local Institute. So you will not be removing me from the premises either. Good day, Mr. Fowler.” 

Nines and Gavin turned on their heels and walked out of the office, closing the door behind them. The two of them walked side by side down to the ops centre, meeting Tina and Val at their terminal.

Gavin placed a hand on his parabatai’s shoulder. “Take everything offline, all the interviews and statements. Send backups to Markus, Ada, Kara, Connor and Josh. We may have just threatened to pursue this to the Inquisitor.”

Nines crossed his arms. “I didn’t threaten, I informed. No matter where Elijah is, he is a danger to humanity. Downworlders fall under that umbrella.”

Tina tapped at the keyboard, forwarding everything already uploaded to the Downworlder leadership. “Since when are you a Clave lawyer?”

“Since my parents wanted me to become Inquisitor before I was cast out. My brother became Consul instead.” Nines shrugged. “I was drilled on the finer points of Clave law, was asked to consult on the European Downworlder Treaty, drafted a few parts of the Accords. It's why Connor had me take over negotiating the Agreement here.”

Val whistled low, leaning against the terminal. “Damn, good for us.”

“Were any of the Downworlders you talked to able to point Elijah out on the lineup?” Gavin picked up a tablet, looking at the photos of Elijah and his lackeys.

Val nodded. “All of them said he was there. Four of them said he was the one that attacked him, the other two said he watched and encouraged the other ones that attacked them.”

Nines dropped his arms, leaning on Tina’s chair to look at the data pack still in her hand. “I’ll get a backed-up copy from Connor tonight.” He looked to Gavin and shrugged again. “Kara handles the fledglings, she’s the clan mother. Like a mother hen. Connor and I are going to address the clan before sundown and try to explain.”

“You going to grab your things too?” Lazzo asked as he hung over the railing slightly above the terminal.

Nines shrugged, resting a hand on the back of Tina’s chair as he straightened to look at the kid. “I don’t have much to grab, didn’t keep a lot of personal effects. Shadowhunter ethos and the fact that all but one of the objects with personal significance would literally burn my hand if I touched them. I do need my phone charger though.”

Gavin reached out and wrapped an arm around Nines. “What time are you heading out?”

“Sunset is around 8 tonight so probably aim for 7. I  _ still  _ haven’t eaten, though.”

Tina stood up and grabbed Nines’ hand. “Shit, first meal in 200 years! I wanna see this! Let's go!”

Gavin laughed, watching his parabatai drag his partner down the hall to the kitchen. Gavin looped his arm with Val and the two of them followed. Gavin took the plate of food Tina shoved at him and the group joined Simon at a table.

“Alright,” Gavin sat next to his partner. “That is a beef stir fry, those are pork dumplings, these are steamed pork buns, and this is a fortune cookie, cause they’re fucking delicious. That is soda, it’s carbonated.”

“I know what carbonation is. Connor has a water carbonizer and in the 2010s he insisted on drinking only carbonated blood... why are you looking at me like that?” The group were all looking at Nines with a variety of disgust and intrigue at the mention of carbonated blood. Simon jotted down a note that Gavin  _ really _ didn’t want to know about.

“ _ Anyways _ , there’s tea over there if you want some.” Gavin pointed behind his shoulder to the display of boxed bagged teas.

Nines looked scandalized. “Gavin Reed, that is  _ not _ tea. That is sad leaves in bags.” Nines stabbed a piece of beef. “Americans ruin everything.”

“Lazzo’s the only American. Get him to answer for their crimes against food.” Gavin took a bite of the sandwich on his plate.

Simon pointed with his spoon. “The Americans ruined maple syrup too. Did you know they used to make fake  _ blue _ maple syrup?!” Lazzo rolled his eyes, arguing back.

The group fell into a discussion about the various crimes against food American culture had committed and Gavin smiled to himself. Nines was jumping in often, arguing about the validity of tea in bags and how much milk or cream one should put in their tea (“One eighth of the total volume of the cup  _ or less _ !”). Gavin noticed that the quicker his pace, the stronger Nines’ accent became. And he noticed how relaxed Nines was. 

Nines had slotted into Gavin’s life over the past few weeks with ease. Now Nines was sitting with his friends and debating  _ American culinary crimes _ . And Nines was breathing because he needed to, not because he wanted to put others at ease. The always-cold Institute meant that Gavin could feel warmth radiating off of Nines’ body, same as he could feel Tina’s warmth on his other side. 

Nines meant something to Gavin. Meant a  _ lot _ to him. 

“Gavin, come  _ on, _ back me up here,” Lazzo’s voice broke through Gavin’s thoughts.

“On what, exactly, am I backing you up?”

“Americans revolutionized desserts!”

Nines rolled his eyes, pointing at Lazzo with his fork. “No, the  _ French _ revolutionized desserts.”

“Actually, Seelies did.” Gavin took a sip of his soda as Val threw a napkin at him. 

“You know we can’t argue with  _ that _ . That’s not fair.”

“It’s true. There’s a  _ reason _ North brings desserts to every meeting. They can’t stand human dessert.”

“Wait, you can have Seelie food?” Lazzo stared at his friend and Gavin rolled his eyes.

“Kid, I grew up in Faerie. If I couldn’t, I’d be  _ dead _ .”

Nines nodded. “He’s particularly fond of some sort of sweet sticky bread thing. He ate about fifty of them over the week we were stuck in Faerie.”

Simon blinked, and frowned. “Wait, you were stuck in Faerie?”

Gavin nodded. “Yeah, for a week. Time was fast when we went, but by the time we were out of Court we had to wait for the sun to set.”

“I love you, but you still can’t explain Faerie time for the life of you, Gav.” Tina patted Gavin’s shoulder.

“Love you too,” Gavin responded. “Either way, Nines is better at avoiding questions than North.”

Simon leaned forward, pointing to Nines and Gavin. “Oooo, who’s better between the two of you?”

“Depends, do I have to be cleansed or not?”

Lazzo considered it before saying, “Not, cause Nines can’t be, right?” 

Val’s eyes lit up. “Wait, we could  _ test it _ .”

Nines folded his napkin and placed it on his empty plate. “I have about three hours before I have to head to the manor.”

“Crashing Gavin’s room!” Lazzo shouted excitedly and took off with the rest of the group before Gavin could protest.

“Why does it always have to be  _ my _ room?” he sighed.

“Regular occurrence?” Nines asked, standing up and grabbing both his and Gavin’s empty dishes, dropping them in the clearly marked dish drop.

Gavin stood and waited at the door to the kitchen, arms crossed. “About 90% of the time hunts end with them de-ichoring in my room.”

Nines uncrossed Gavin’s arms, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “They trust you. Your room is safe to them, because  _ you’re _ safe.”

Gavin fought the flush that crossed his cheeks, failing momentously as his cheeks and the tips of his ears heated. “Speaking from experience?” 

Nines wove his fingers with Gavin as they walked towards his room. “I’ve been- I  _ was _ co-head of the clan for nearly two centuries. I know a thing or two about people needing to be safe.”

Gavin gently squeezed Nines’ hand at his stumble, stopping before they entered Gavin’s room. “You sure about choosing this?”

“I am,” Nines spoke surely. “It’ll just take... Some getting used to. Not much has actually changed, I’ll never stop protecting the downworld. But now, I’m back to protecting  _ them _ rather than defending  _ us _ .”

Gavin looked at the door to his room. “You know we don’t have to go in.”

“You got a better idea?”

“You haven’t seen the greenhouse in the day.”

Nines smiled and let Gavin pull him down the hall to the hidden entrance to the greenhouse. Gavin pushed the door open and pulled Nines to a small bench in the main greenhouse. The bench was firmly in direct sunlight. The two of them settled on the bench, Nines’ arm around Gavin’s shoulder and Gavin leaning into him. 

“Would you come with me, to Idris?” Nines asked quietly.

“You promised to show me one day. We’ve got a reason now.” Gavin grinned. “Besides, I  _ really _ wanna watch you take my brother down a few pegs  _ at least _ .”

Nines laughed, kissing Gavin gently.

“Have you thought about your name?” Gavin asked when he pulled away.

Nines sighed. “I haven’t been Richard Ashgrove for over two centuries. I'm not sure I  _ can _ be him again. I’ve been Nines longer, but Nines is the co-head of the Detroit clan, and I’m not that anymore either.”

“So you’ve thought about it, but haven’t decided yet.”

“I think, I’ll mix the two.”

“Nines Ashgrove?” Nines nodded and Gavin smiled a little. “If anything, it means you’ll get to shove it in your parents' face.”

Nines laughed, leaning his head back. “This right here, this is worth all of it.”

Gavin looked up at Nines, resting his head on his shoulder. “The sun?”

“The warmth.” Nines took a deep, content breath, because he  _ could _ . “Something went wrong with my Turning. Connor attributed it to the amount of yin fen in my system when he turned me, but I haven’t been able to feel warmth to this degree in... 217 years, almost exactly.” Gavin shifted, pulling Nines closer to him and Nines smiled, burying his face in the crook of Gavin’s neck. “You still smell the same, just less blood smell now.”

Gavin chuckled softly, pressing a kiss to Nines’ temple. “You and your semi-creepy observations. Could give Simon a run for his money.” Nines smiled, arms tight around Gavin, both of them listening to the other’s heartbeat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna yell at me/talk bout this (or other) stories/ships I'm on twitter @marvelmerlin (where I give heads up about updates) and on Tumblr @marvelmerlinao3


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